UC-NRLF 


SB    2b2    flbl 


an  G 

•  2>f=>/>cf. 

\oulcl  Krtoa 


/ir 


WHAT  AN  ADVERTISER 
SHOULD  KNOW 


THE  "PRACTICAL"  SERIES 


By  HENRY  C.  TAYLOR 

WHAT  A  SALESMAN  SHOULD  KNOW 

WHAT  AN  ADVERTISER  SHOULD  KNOW 

Each,  Small  12mo.     Net  75  Cents 

BROWNE  &  HOWELL  CO. 

Publishers 
8^"  See  full  description  at  end  of  this  volume. 


THE  "PRACTICAL"  SERIES 

What  An  Advertiser 
Should  Know 

A  Handbook  for  Everyone 
Who  Advertises 

BY 

HENRY  C.  TAYLOR 

Author  of  "What  a  Salesman  Should  Know" 


CHICAGO 

BROWNE  &  HOWELL  COMPANY 
1914 


COPYRIGHT,   1914 
BROWNE     &     HO WELL     COMPANY 


PUBLISHED,  APRIL,  1914 


'  BY   ' 

THE  LINDSAY -SCHUETZ  Co. 
CHICAGO 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    GENERAL  FORMS  OF  ADVERTISING     .       7 
II    THE  GENERAL  CONSTRUCTION  OF  AN 

ADVERTISEMENT 16 

III  WHAT  AN  ADVERTISER  SHOULD  KNOW 

ABOUT  PRINTING 27 

IV  ADVERTISING  MEDIUMS      ....  36 
V    FORM  LETTERS,  CIRCULAR  DISTRIBU- 
TIONS, ETC 45 

VI    PREMIUMS,  THE  RETAIL  MERCHANT 

AND  His  CLERKS 56 

VII    HOUSE  ORGANS 66 

VIII    CATALOG  ADVERTISING 74 

IX    THE  RETAILER  FROM  A   MANUFAC- 
TURER'S STANDPOINT      .      .      .      .81 
X    THE  ADVERTISING  MANAGER  AND  THE 

ADVERTISING  AGENCY  89 


392291 


PUBLISHERS'  NOTE 

WE  have  arranged  with  Mr.  Henry  C.  Taylor  to  give 
us  a  series  of  practical  handbooks  for  the  busi- 
ness man.  His  first  volume,  "What  a  Salesman 
Should  Know,"  has  proved  very  popular,  a  second  edition 
being  called  for  shortly  after  the  book  was  put  upon  the 
market.  It  is  with  pleasure,  therefore,  that  we  present 
this,  his  second  volume. 

The  author  of  these  timely  and  instructive  books  is 
still  young.  His  methods  are  snappy  and  up-to-date. 
The  name,  Henry  C.  Taylor,  is  a  nom  de  plume.  He  is  a 
member  of  a  prominent  firm,  has  charge  of  the  sales 
department  and  does  the  traveling  in  the  important  cities 
himself.  For  business  reasons  he  prefers  not  to  disclose 
his  identity. 

This  series  of  books  has  been  prepared  and  published 
for  the  benefit  of  the  young  man  in  business  today.  They 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  man  who  desires  to  make 
himself  more  efficient, — not  only  those  who  have  already 
made  a  start  in  business,  but  those  also  who  intend  at 
some  future  time  to  take  up  business  as  a  profession. 


What  an  Advertiser 
Should  Know 

CHAPTER  I. 
GENERAL  FORMS  OF  ADVERTISING. 

THE  word  advertise,  as  defined  by  Webster, 
means  to  give  notice  to;  to  inform;  to  an- 
nounce publicly,  especially  by  printed  notice.  In 
this  progressive  day  and  age,  however,  this  defini- 
tion falls  far  short  of  the  real  meaning  of  the  word 
and  we  find  it  necessary  to  add  the  clause  to  pro- 
duce sales.  For  if  the  latter  are  not  forthcoming  as 
the  result  of  advertising  an  article,  then  the  effort 
has  been  wholly  wasted. 

Advertising  is  as  old  as  the  human  race  itself. 
During  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  however,  such 
tremendous  progress  has  been  made  in  it  that  the 
business  man  of  today  regards  it  not  as  an  art  but  as 
a  science  and  one  which  he  must  study  with  great 
care. 

The  earliest  form  of  advertising  of  which  we 
have  record  was  the  old-fashioned  street  vendor,  or 
crier.  His  methods  are  still  in  use,  even  in  this  age 
of  advancement,  and  not  without  good  results.  Fol- 
lowing the  street  vendor  as  a  form  of  advertising 
came  the  use  of  the  sign-board.  This  developed 


8      IF'hat'an  'Ativertis^r  Should  Know 

later  into  the  use  of  show  cards,  bill-boards  and 
posters.  In  time  the  newspaper  and  the  magazine 
became  the  mediums  of  advertising,  although  in  the 
beginning  these  latter  were  used  for  simply-worded 
announcements  such  as  "John  Jones  &  Co.  Sell  Dry 
Goods." 

Advertisements  today  are  elaborate.  The  medi- 
ums are  expensive.  The  man  in  business  has  more 
people  to  reach,  more  territory  to  cover.  It  is  im- 
perative, therefore,  that  he  have  knowledge  of  every 
branch  of  his  business  whether  it  shows  a  large  profit 
or  an  equally  large  loss.  Tremendous  sums  are  ex- 
pended today  in  advertising  and  a  large  part  of  it  is 
absolutely  lost  because  the  man  in  business  does  not 
know  how  to  make  his  advertising  count. 

It  is  not  the  object  of  the  writer  to  present  a 
long  technical  treatise  on  this  important  subject,  but 
to  put  before  the  advertiser  some  essential  points 
which  will  enable  him  to  handle  his  advertising 
problem  intelligently. 

In  advertising  a  business  the  first  step  for  the 
merchant  to  take  into  consideration  is  the  general 
appearance  of  his  store  or  place  of  business,  for,  in 
the  last  analysis,  every  factor  pertaining  to  a  business 
which  tends  to  create  an  effect  upon  the  customer  or 
visitor  is  a  part  of  its  advertising.  Interior  decora- 
tions which  create  a  pleasing  effect  are  important 
factors,  while  the  intelligent  and  artistic  use  of  store 


General  Forms  of  Advertising        9 

windows  as  a  medium  of  advertising  is  more  im- 
portant still.  Large  stores  place  a  high  value  on 
their  window  space,  often  as  high  as  a  hundred  dol- 
lars a  week.  They  maintain  high-salaried  men 
whose  sole  duty  it  is  to  look  after  them.  The  posi- 
tion of  window-trimmer  for  a  large  concern  is  an 
important  one  and  one  which  commands  an  excellent 
salary. 

The  merchant  must  realize  also  that  the  person- 
ality of  his  clerks  is  an  advertisement,  favorable  or 
unfavorable  as  the  case  may  be.  The  clever  business 
man  knows  that  his  store's  greatest  asset  is  a  com- 
pany of  intelligent  clerks.  By  far  the  best  adver- 
tisement a  store  can  have  is  a  reputation  for  good 
service.  When  a  customer  knows  that  he  can  enter 
a  place  of  business,  be  waited  upon  by  an  intelligent 
clerk  without  confusion,  it  is  an  advertisement  of 
great  value  to  that  store. 

Many  firms  make  it  a  point  to  play  up  this  fea- 
ture in  their  newspaper  advertising.  This  goes  to 
prove  that  the  business  man  realizes  that  almost  any- 
thing he  does  results  in  advertising,  whether  the  lat- 
ter proves  of  lasting  effect  or  whether  it  turns  out 
to  be  a  detriment  of  equal  magnitude. 

As  has  been  said,  we  have  come  to  recognize  ad- 
vertising as  a  science.  We  have  schools  for  the  pur- 
pose of  teaching  it,  just  as  we  have  schools  for  teach- 
ing law  and  medicine.  If,  therefore,  advertising:  is  a 


10    What  an  Advertiser  Should Know 

science,  which  it  is,  the  man  in  business  must  study 
it  carefully,  just  as  the  lawyer  and  the  doctor  study 
their  professions. 

The  position  of  advertising  manager  for  a  large 
concern  is  perhaps  the  highest  paid  position  in  the 
business  world,  and  when  we  stop  to  think  of  the 
enormous  sums  of  money  expended  for  advertising, 
we  realize  its  importance  in  business  when  it  is  con- 
ducted under  modern  methods  as  it  is  today. 

Aside  from  the  use  of  space  in  the  newspapers 
and  magazines,  there  are  any  number  of  other  kinds 
of  advertising  which  we  shall  term  Supplementary 
Forms.  Some  of  these  have  already  been  enumer- 
ated. 

For  the  manufacturer  and  wholesaler,  the  co- 
operation of  the  retail  merchant  and  his  clerks  in  an 
advertising  campaign  is  not  only  decidedly  beneficial 
but  necessary  to  both  parties.  It  is  an  accepted  fact 
that  unless  all  concerned  pull  together  and  strive 
for  the  same  object,  the  desired  results  cannot  be 
readily  obtained.  Harmony  in  advertising,  as  in 
everything  else,  is  necessary.  A  manufacturer  may 
advertise  until  he  is  blue  in  the  face  but  unless  he 
has  the  co-operation  of  the  jobber  and  the  retailer, 
his  advertising  will  be  lost. 

A  jobber's  word  is  taken  as  a  guarantee  by  the 
retailer.  The  retailer's  word  is  invariably  taken  by 
his  customers.  A  retailer  or  one  of  his  clerks  can 


General  Forms  of  Advertising      11 

make  or  break  the  sale  of  an  advertised  article  in 
their  own  store  simply  by  saying  that  the  advertised 
article  is  all  right  but  that  he  believes  such  and  such 
an  article  is  better.  He  is  a  member  of  the  local 
community.  He  is  known  as  a  man  of  good  stand- 
ing and  his  word  is  usually  taken  by  the  customer. 
The  psychology  of  this  is  readily  seen.  The  jobber 
is  known  to  the  retailer  and  therefore  his  word  is 
taken.  The  retailer  is  known  to  his  customers  and 
his  word  is  taken  by  them.  So  it  is  very  necessary 
for  the  manufacturer  to  gain  the  co-operation  of 
these  two  most  important  mediums  for  putting  an 
article  on  the  market. 

The  writer  once  knew  a  man  in  the  candy  manu- 
facturing business  who  told  him  that  his  big  supple- 
mentary advertising  aid  was  to  get  acquainted  with 
the  clerk  who  stood  behind  the  counter  and  sold  the 
goods  at  retail.  He  would  spend  considerable  time 
in  showing  the  clerks  where  his  candy  was  superior 
to  any  other  brand,  how  it  was  made,  etc.  The 
clerk  soon  began  to  think  that  he  really  knew  some- 
thing about  this  particular  brand  of  candy.  So  he 
would  recommend  it  to  his  customer. 

Reach  the  sales  people  is,  or  should  be,  the  main 
object  of  all  manufacturers.  Tell  them  something 
about  the  goods  you  are  making.  They  will  appre- 
ciate it.  Ask  their  co-operation.  As  soon  as  they 
begin  to  recommend  the  article  to  their  customers 


12    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

the  result  will  be  apparent  in  financial  returns.  Ask 
some  merchant  to  make  a  window  display  of  your 
goods.  If  he  will  not  lend  you  the  use  of  his  win- 
dows rent  them.  It  is  money  well  spent.  It  will 
be  productive  of  good  results,  for  when  a  window 
display  is  made  it  carries  the  local  merchant's  guar- 
antee. This  is  worth  a  great  deal  in  any  com- 
munity. 

The  use  of  street  car  space  is  a  good  means  of 
supplementing  a  general  campaign.  It  takes  about 
fifty  thousand  cards  to  cover  the  United  States  and 
Canada  and  the  cost  is  about  fifty  cents  per  card  per 
month.  These  cards  can  be  changed  as  often  as  is 
desired  but  usually  the  change  is  made  but  once  a 
month.  Such  advertising  is  in  the  hands  of  com- 
panies owning  franchises  and  options  upon  most  of 
the  street  car  space  in  the  country.  Posters  are  used 
with  good  effect  by  the  retail  merchant  and  prove 
of  indefinite  value  to  the  manufacturer.  These  are 
made  on  a  very  elaborate  scale.  Manufacturers  go 
to  great  expense  in  purchasing  beautiful  drawings 
by  well  known  artists,  for  posters  are  designed  to 
attract  by  their  physical  beauty. 

Bill-Board  and  Painted  Sign  advertising  is  used 
extensively  by  large  firms  in  putting  on  a  national 
campaign.  This  form  of  advertising  is  handled  by 
bill-posting  concerns  and  costs  so  much  per  board 
per  month.  It  is  much  more  difficult  to  prepare  a 


General  Forms  of  Advertising      13 

bill-board  advertisement  than  it  is  to  write  one  for 
a  street  car.  The  reason  for  this  is  apparent.  Peo- 
ple are  not  sitting  in  front  of  a  bill-board  advertise- 
ment as  they  are  of  one  in  a  street  car.  Their  at- 
tention must  be  gained  and  the  story  told  at  a 
glance.  It  is  the  usual  thing,  when  riding  on  a 
train,  for  the  passenger  to  watch  the  bill-boards  for 
the  distances  to  the  next  town.  In  this  fleeting 
glance  the  story  of  the  advertiser  must  be  told. 

Painted  Signs  are  similar  to  bill-board  advertis- 
ing and  perform  the  same  office.  There  is  a  great 
deal  of  risk  connected  with  this  form  of  advertising. 
The  boards  are  frequently  blown  down  and  the 
posters  destroyed  by  rain.  If  a  painted  sign  on  a 
building  is  used  the  advertiser  may  see  his  sign  ob- 
scured by  the  erection  of  a  vnew  building.  Wall 
space  on  prominent  buildings  is  very  expensive. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  innovation  in  the  advertis- 
ing of  the  present  day  has  been  accomplished  by  the 
use  of  electricity.  Take  a  walk  up  Broadway  any 
evening  and  think  of  the  enormous  amount  of  money 
spent  in  advertising  by  means  of  electric  signs.  The 
greatest  achievement  in  electrical  advertising  in  the 
world  today  is  the  Chariot  Race  display  facing  Her- 
ald Square  in  New  York  City.  To  illustrate  the 
magnitude  of  this  wonderful  sign  it  is  only  necessary 
to  say  that  it  takes  some  twenty  thousand  electric 
bulbs  to  produce  it. 


14    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

The  prices  paid  for  positions  for  these  big  signs 
are  enormous  and  run  from  one  to  two  thousand 
dollars  per  month.  This  form  of  advertising  is  not 
organized  as  is  the  bill-board  system.  As  yet  no 
agency  has  interested  itself  to  the  point  of  instituting 
a  system  of  electric  signs  which  would  be  of  service 
in  carrying  on  a  national  campaign.  Electrical  ad- 
vertising is  not  entirely  confined  to  out  of  doors  but 
may  be  used  with  great  effect  inside  a  store.  Win- 
dow displays,  interior  decorating  and  other  display 
schemes  have  been  revolutionized  by  the  use  of  elec- 
tricity. 

Another  form  of  advertising,  similar  to  the  bill- 
board and  poster  method,  is  the  distribution  of  hand 
bills  and  samples  from  house  to  house.  This  is 
handled  by.  agencies  which  guarantee  an  honest  dis- 
tribution, thus  minimizing  the  usual  risk  of  having 
the  samples  and  matter  destroyed  or  never  dis- 
tributed. 

The  use  of  novelties  has  been  productive  of  good 
results  and  is  a  lasting  form  of  advertising.  This, 
also,  is  handled  by  agents.  They  will  call  upon  you 
and  display  a  thousand  different  novelties  at  a  thou- 
sand different  prices.  Banks  often  make  use  of  cal- 
endars as  a  novelty  form  of  advertising.  Insurance 
companies  frequently  use  blotters,  etc.  Making 
presents  to  one's  customers  of  an  attractive  booklet 
or  diary  is  a  lasting  form  of  advertisement  and  one 


General  Forms  of  Advertising      15 

which  is  appreciated  by  all  who  receive  them.  In 
presenting  an  advertising  novelty  it  is  always  best  to 
give  something  which  is  serviceable  as  well  as  last- 
ing. If  diaries  are  selected  for  this  purpose  it  is  a 
good  plan  to  continue  to  give  one  each  year.  The 
customers  will  soon  learn  to  look  forward  to  receiv- 
ing them. 

Program  advertising  is  productive  of  good  results 
and  space  can  be  obtained  at  very  reasonable  rates. 
This  is  also  in  the  hands  of  agencies  which  control 
the  theatre  programs  of  certain  cities. 

The  forms  of  advertising  mentioned  in  this  chap- 
ter are  considered  as  supplementary  to  the  real  news- 
paper and  magazine  advertising  which  we  shall  dis- 
cuss later  on. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  GENERAL  CONSTRUCTION  OF  AN  ADVERTISE- 
MENT. 

A  DVERTISING  as  before  mentioned,  is  now 
JL\.  recognized  as  a  science.  It  is  no  longer  a  vehi- 
cle for  fakes  and  quacks.  The  large  store  employs 
high-salaried  men  and  maintains  a  large  advertising 
department  while  the  smaller  merchant  usually 
writes  his  own  "copy"  and  generally  oversees  all  the 
advertising  of  his  store.  This  little  book  is  not  in- 
tended to  go  into  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  science 
of  advertising  but  simply  to  put  forth  some  facts 
which  will  enable  the  business  man  to  grasp  and 
handle  more  intelligently  this  gigantic  problem. 

Millions  of  dollars  are  spent  annually  in  adver- 
tising and  a  great  percent  of  it  is  absolutely  wasted 
because  the  advertiser  does  not  know  what  he  is  do- 
ing. The  man  who  thinks  that  any  old  kind  of  an 
announcement  will  do  is  about  half  a  century  behind 
the  times.  To  be  able  to  write  "copy"  which  will 
produce  results  requires  hard  study,  long  and  careful 
thought.  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  writer  to  put  forth 
briefly  his  ideas  upon  the  general  construction  of  an 
advertisement  to  aid  the  smaller  as  well  as  the  larger 


Construction  of  an  Advertisement    17 

advertiser  in  obtaining  additional  knowledge  as  to 
the  manner  of  writing  forceful  copy. 

In  making  up  an  advertisement,  the  matter 
should  be  put  into  such  concrete  form  that  it  will 
make  an  instant  impression,  will  create  an  immediate 
image  in  the  mind  of  the  reader  and  prospective  pur- 
chaser. To  illustrate  this  point, — a  firm,  known  to 
the  writer,  used  page  after  page  in  the  dailies  stating 
that  they  would  put  on  sale  sixty  thousand  dollars 
worth  of  clothing  to  be  sold  for  the  next  sixty  days 
at  a  discount  of  sixty  percent.  This  firm  was  really 
in  financial  difficulties  and  could  not  afford  to  stand 
this  loss,  but  to  get  in  ready  cash  was  imperative. 
So  they  took  this  means  of  getting  it  and  reconciled 
themselves  to  the  loss.  At  the  end  of  thirty  days 
they  found  that  they  had  fallen  far  below  what  they 
had  expected  and  they  were  feeling  pretty  blue  over 
it  for  they  were  still  in  need  of  cash.  They  called 
upon  an  advertising  man  whom  they  knew  and  asked 
his  advice.  After  careful  thought  he  told  them  that 
their  style  of  advertising  was  not  convincing.  It 
would  not  produce  results. 

"We  have  spent  several  thousand  dollars  and  it 
seems  to  us  that  we  should  have  results,"  was  the  re- 
ply of  the  firm. 

It  had  never  occurred  to  them  that  perhaps  the 
style  of  advertising  they  had  been  using  might  be 
wrong.  Finally  they  turned  the  problem  of  adver- 


18    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

tising  the  sale  over  to  their  friend,  the  experienced 
advertising  man.  After  considerable  study  he  hit 
upon  the  following  plan.  He  had  a  fac-simile  of  a 
dollar  bill  made  and  ran  it  in  his  advertisement  with 
the  following  caption : 

"This  certificate  is  good  for  one  dollar  if  pre- 
sented at  our  store  within  the  next  thirty  days." 

The  volume  of  business  increased  amazingly  and 
the  firm  instead  of  sacrificing  sixty  percent  made  a 
goodly  profit  on  the  sale. 

The  psychology  of  this  advertisement  is  simple. 
The  certificate  resembled  money ,  and  the  reader 
knew  that  it  was  worth  money  if  presented  at  this 
certain  store  within  a  certain  time.  In  other  words 
the  certificate  created  an  image  and  made  an  impres- 
sion on  the  mind  of  the  reader.  The  United  Cigar 
Stores  use  this  plan.  They  make  their  premium 
certificates  to  resemble  money  and  in  this  way  create 
in  the  mind  of  the  customer  the  impression  that  they 
are  worth  money,  or  its  equivalent,  if  saved  until  a 
certain  number  have  been  collected.  One  will  not 
throw  away  certificates  which  will  be  worth  money, 
if  saved,  but  will  begin  collecting  them,  and  will 
not  make  his  purchases  unless  he  can  get  these  pre- 
mium certificates.  In  just  the  same  way  the  S.  &  H. 
trading  stamps  capture  the  ladies  in  buying  their 
food  supplies. 


Construction  of  an  Advertisement    19 

Certain  colors  are  displeasing  to  most  of  us  while 
certain  others  are  generally  pleasing.  The  ordinary 
black  and  white  advertisement  depends  for  its  ef- 
fectiveness principally  upon  the  type  used.  A  pleas- 
ing initial,  or  monogram,  often  catches  the  eye.  But 
today  advertising  is  going  into  more  costly  forms. 
The  advertiser  is  using  two,  three  and  possibly  more 
colors,  depending  upon  the  physical  beauty  of  the 
advertisement  to  attract  attention.  It  stands  to  rea- 
son, therefore,  that  if  the  colors  are  not  in  harmony 
and  not  well  blended,  a  feeling  of  repugnance  and 
disappointment  is  produced.  No  matter  how  good 
the  advertised  article  may  be,  if  this  feeling  is  pro- 
duced the  advertisement  is  a  failure. 

A  certain  glove  manufacturer  purchased  an  ex- 
quisite drawing  of  a  beautiful  girl  pulling  on  a  pair 
of  gloves.  He  made  about  ten  thousand  hanging 
cards,  using  this  picture  and  the  caption  that  this 
beauty  wore  such  and  such  gloves.  The  picture  was 
a  work  of  art.  It  attracted  attention  immediately. 
It  was  one  that  would  not  be  readily  thrown  away. 
So  the  advertisement  proved  of  indefinite  value  and 
lasted  for  a  long  time.  The  pictures  were  printed 
in  three  colors  and  were  very  effective. 

Red  is  a  color  pleasing  to  most  people  and  is  ex- 
tensively used  in  advertising.  If  the  advertised  arti- 
cle comes  in  a  package,  a  facsimile  or  reproduction 
could  be  used  with  good  effect.  But  here,  as  in 


20    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

every  case,  the  color  scheme  should  be  carefully 
worked  out.  Wrigley's  scheme  for  putting  his  gum 
on  the  market  is  a  good  example.  The  green  and 
light  red  colors  are  well  blended.  The  color  scheme 
is  carefully  worked  out  and  the  effect  as  a  whole  is 
pleasing  to  the  eye.  The  facsimile  of  the  package 
creates  an  image,  as  does  his  trade-mark,  "Look  for 
the  Spear."  This  is  lasting,  and  whenever  a  reader 
wants  chewing  gum,  the  image  comes  promptly  to 
mind.  To  the  mind  of  the  writer  this  is  the  most 
remarkably  planned  as  well  as  the  most  successful 
campaign  of  advertising  put  forth  in  recent  years. 

Rhythm  is  another  point  to  be  considered  in  writ- 
ing an  advertisement.  It  is  one  which  should  be 
studied  with  great  care.  If  the  sentences  are  too 
long  they  will  not  be  read.  It  is  necessary  to  break 
the  matter  up  into  shorter  and  more  compact  sen- 
tences, each  one  telling  a  story.  The  interest  of  the 
reader  is  soon  aroused  and  the  advertisement  is  read 
through  before  he  is  aware  of  it. 

The  advertiser  must  depend  upon  the  physical 
eye  to  do  the  work  of  carrying  the  impression  of  his 
advertisement  to  the  brain.  The  eye  has  its  own 
peculiar  construction.  It  is  constantly  on  the  alert. 
It  instantly  selects,  out  of  many,  the  one  advertise- 
ment which  is  pleasing.  It  will  be  read  through. 
The  advertiser  who  uses  unfamiliar  words,  peculiar 
forms  or  unusual  arrangements  will  find  that  his  ad- 


Construction  of  an  Advertisement    21 

vertisement  carries  little  weight.  It  is  not  readily 
perceived  or  easily  remembered.  Yet  these  are  the 
two  points  of  greatest  concern  to  him. 

The  writer  of  an  advertisement  should  be  very 
careful  that  the  idea  which  he  wishes  to  impress 
upon  his  readers  is  one  which  is  not  subordinate  to 
another  advertising  motive.  For  example,  suppose 
that  the  article  to  be  advertised  is  a  certain  kind  of 
suspenders.  A  picture  of  a  man  putting  on  a  pair 
is  used  in  the  advertisement.  The  utmost  care  must 
be  taken  that  the  expression  on  the  face  of  the  man 
is  one  of  pleasure  and  comfort,  for  if  by  a  single  mis- 
drawn  line  the  expression  is  made  otherwise  it  will 
ruin  the  effect  of  the  real  motive  and  produce  a 
feeling  that  the  suspenders  are  not  so  satisfactory 
after  all.  Thus  the  effect  of  good  "copy"  is  lost  and 
the  advertising  amounts  to  nothing. 

Summing  up  the  general  construction  of  an  ad- 
vertisement the  writer  would  say  that  its  effective- 
ness is  dependent  upon  four  concrete  principles : 

First.     The  Power  to  Impress  Reliability. 

Second.     The  Power  to  Create  Authority. 

Third.  The  Ability  to  Repeat  from  Year  to 
Year. 

Fourth.     The  Ability  to  Impress  by  Suggestion. 

These  four  things  lead  up  to  the  final  purpose  of 
all  advertising  which  is  "to  buy  and  take  home." 


22    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

THE  POWER  TO  IMPRESS  RELIABIL- 
ITY. An  advertisement  should  be  written  in  such 
manner  that  it  will  impress  on  the  mind  of  the 
reader  the  idea  of  reliability.  This  is  a  very  im- 
portant point  in  this  age  of  fake  concerns  and  fake 
advertisements.  As  an  example,  John  Wanamaker's 
advertisements  are  always  considered  reliable. 
When  prices  are  quoted  by  him  it  is  taken  for 
granted  that  value  and  quality  will  be  received  for 
the  price  stated.  The  reputation  of  a  store  is  made 
in  this  way,  and  as  soon  as  the  reading  public  learns 
that  what  is  said  in  the  advertising  of  a  certain  place 
of  business  is  reliable,  the  advertisements  will  be 
read  with  greater  care.  Therefore,  to  establish  a 
reputation  for  reliability  is  an  essential  policy  for 
any  store  to  pursue. 

THE  POWER  TO  CREATE  AUTHOR- 
ITY. When  a  firm  has  once  established  a  reputa- 
tion for  reliability  and  has  gained  the  confidence  of 
its  customers,  it  will  be  accepted  as  an  authority. 
Manufacturing  concerns,  in  their  advertising,  will 
often  include  the  sentence  "Wanamaker's  recon> 
mend  this  to  their  customers."  To  those  who  know 
the  Wanamaker  stores  (and  to  those  as  well  who 
do  not)  these  words  suggest  reliability  of  authority. 
Publishers,  in  advertising  a  book,  will  first  give  a 
copy  to  some  prominent  man,  get  an  expression  from 
him  concerning  it  and  then  use  a  phrase  from  it  in 


Construction  of  an  Advertisement    23 

their  advertising,  such  as  "Mr.  Roosevelt  says  this 
is  an  uncommonly  fine  book,"  or  some  similar  ex- 
pression. This  gives  a  man  of  reputation  as  author- 
ity and  also  establishes  reliability,  for  the  man 
quoted  is  usually  an  authority  on  the  value  of  the 
book  in  question  and  knows  a  great  deal  more  about 
the  subject  than  the  average  man  or  woman. 

THE  ABILITY  TO  REPEAT  AN  ADVER- 
TISEMENT. This  is  one  of  the  most  important 
points  in  successful  advertising.  Select  a  trade- 
mark and  place  it  on  every  piece  of  advertising  mat- 
ter put  out  by  the  concern.  By  continuous  use  and 
repetition  it  will  become  well  known  and  will  stand 
for  reliability  and  authority.  It  has  been  said  that 
George  Mennen's  face  has  been  run  in  advertise- 
ments several  million  times.  It  is  on  the  product 
itself,  on  every  advertisement,  on  circulars  and,  in 
fact,  it  is  on  everything  that  pertains  to  Mennen's 
Talcum  Powder.  An  advertised  name  takes  a  cer- 
tain value  after  a  length  of  time  and  is  a  most  valu- 
able asset  to  a  concern.  In  like  manner  the  negro 
"chef"  used  by  the  Cream  of  Wheat  Cereal  Com- 
pany in  all  their  advertisements  stands  for  Cream 
of  Wheat.  "Look  for  the  Spear"  stands  for  Wrig- 
ley's  spearmint  gum,  etc. 

Establish  a  reputation  for  making  or  selling 
some  special  line  of  goods.  Hammer  this  fact  home 
in .  all  your  advertising.  Your  reputation  once 


24    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

made,  your  advertisements  will  be  read  with  greater 
care.  Another  angle  of  this  third  form  is  the  con- 
stant repetition  of  an  advertisement  in  some  certain 
advertising  medium,  usually  the  daily  paper.  The 
usual  rate  for  space  in  the  metropolitan  dailies  is 
about  twenty  cents  per  agate  line.  If  a  merchant,  or 
manufacturer,  figures  that  he  wants  to  spend  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  advertising  a  certain  arti- 
cle, it  would  produce  far  better  results  to  take  a  hun- 
dred lines,  at  twenty  dollars  an  insertion,  and  run  it 
for  twelve  consecutive  issues  than  to  run  one  inser- 
tion in  twelve  different  papers.  By  this  method  the 
advertising  fire  is  concentrated  on  the  readers  of  the 
one  paper  and  good  results  are  usually  forthcoming. 
The  other  way  the  fire  would  be  scattered  and 
would  have  little  or  no  effect  at  all.  If  a  reader 
sees  an  advertisement  several  consecutive  times  he  is 
more  than  likely  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
advertised  article  must  have  some  merit,  else  it 
would  not  be  advertised  with  such  regularity.  If 
the  "copy"  is  well  written  and  convincing  he  is  in- 
variably brought  to  the  conclusion  that  he  ought  to 
buy.  For  instance,  if  the  article  advertised  is  a 
safety  razor  and  a  certain  brand  is  given  great  pub- 
licity and  the  advertisements  are  repeated  often,  the 
reader  will  have  this  certain  brand  fixed  in  his  mind. 
When  the  time  comes  that  he  needs  a  safety  razor 
he  will  buy  the  brand  with  which  he  is  familiar. 


Construction  of  an  Advertisement    25 

Repetition  in  advertising  is  very  important.  The 
success  or  failure  of  an  article  to  be  advertised  oft- 
times  depends  entirely  upon  it. 

THE  ABILITY  TO  IMPRESS  BY  SUG- 
GESTION. This,  the  last  of  the  four  principles 
on  which  effective  advertising  is  based,  is  a  combina- 
tion of  the  other  three.  Suggestion,  in  this  case, 
means  "taking  for  granted," — in  other  words,  it  is 
the  means  by  which  a  customer  is  brought  to  a  de- 
cision to  buy  without  referring  directly  to  the  quality 
or  benefits  of  the  goods  advertised.  The  buyer  is 
allowed  to  think  that  he  has  figured  it  out  himself, — 
that  it  was  his  own  original  idea.  A  simple  illustra- 
tion of  the  writer's  meaning  would  be  a  picture  of 
two  men  walking  down  the  street  in  a  blinding 
snow  storm, — one  with  a  big  fur  overcoat  on  and  the 
other  without  any  overcoat  at  all,  the  caption  under- 
neath the  picture  being  "Johnson's  for  Overcoats." 
The  first  thought  of  the  reader  would  be  one  of 
sympathy  for  the  poor  fellow  without  a  coat.  The 
next  thought  would  be,  "What  a  fine-looking  coat 
on  the  other  man!"  The  contrast  would  be  great, 
of  course.  The  whole  picture  would  make  an  im- 
pression on  his  mind  and  create  an  image  which 
would  last.  Soon  the  thought  would  strike  him  that 
perhaps  he,  the  reader,  would  look  well  in  just  such 
a  coat,  or  perhaps  he  would  call  to  mind  that  his 
own  coat  was  getting  old  and  that  he  needed  another 


26    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

one.  This  kind  of  advertising  is  very  catchy  and 
clever.  It  may  be  used  with  good  results  in  many 
different  ways. 

Illustrative  comparisons  are  often  a  great  deal 
better  than  a  long  talk  about  the  merits  of  an  article. 
The  public  today  will  not  read  a  long  drawn-out  ad- 
vertisement. Readers,  especially  busy  men,  figure 
that  it  is  a  waste  of  time.  They  want  things  said  in 
the  least  possible  number  of  words.  As  a  rule,  a 
merchant  does  not  want  to  listen  to  a  lengthy  argu- 
ment from  a  salesman.  It  is  the  same  in  advertising. 
Therefore  make  it  short  and  to  the  point. 


CHAPTER  III. 

WHAT  AN  ADVERTISER  SHOULD  KNOW  ABOUT 
PRINTING. 

THE  advertiser  should  have  a  fair  knowledge  of 
the  printing  business  in  order  to  be  able  to 
prepare  his  "copy"  in  an  intelligent  form  and  also 
to  his  own  best  advantage.  The  usual  tendency  in 
"copy-writing"  is  to  write  too  much  for  the  space 
the  material  is  to  occupy.  The  advertiser  should  be 
able  to  understand  the  placing  of  his  "cuts"  to  the 
best  advantage,  the  selection  of  the  type  to  be  used, 
etc.  Upon  this  depends  the  physical  appearance  of 
his  advertisement.  The  advertiser  should  know  how 
some  of  the  most  important  devices  are  made  and 
he  will  find  it  to  his  advantage  to  keep  the  following 
definitions  in  mind : 

HALF-TONE  engraving  is  the  process  of  re- 
producing photographs,  wash-drawings  and  illustra- 
tions on  metal  plates  for  use  in  printing.  These 
plates  are  produced  by  photographing  the  design 
through  a  screen  or  glass  upon  which  is  drawn  a 
series  of  lines  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles. 
If  these  lines  are  numerous  and  close  together,  say 


28    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

a  hundred  and  fifty  or  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  to 
the  inch,  the  half-tone  is  said  to  be  of  fine  screen.  If 
the  lines  are  few  and  far  apart  the  half-tone  is  said 
to  be  of  coarse  screen.  The  negatives  are  then 
printed  on  a  copper  plate  and  the  plate  is  etched  in  a 
bath  of  acid.  The  plates  are  then  trimmed  and 
mounted  on  wooden  blocks  and  are  ready  for  print- 
ing. It  is  important,  in  making  a  half-tone,  that  the 
copy  should  be  as  sharp  and  distinct  and  as  free 
from  defects  as  is  possible. 

COLOR  PLATES  are  produced  in  half-tone  by 
what  is  known  as  the  three  color  process.  For 
these  three  separate  plates  are  made  for  printing 
with  yellow,  red  and  blue  respectively.  These  are 
made  by  photographing  through  colored  glass,  known 
as  a  filter,  which  excludes  all  rays  of  light  except  that 
of  the  desired  color. 

ZINC  ETCHINGS  are  produced  in  a  manner 
similar  to  half-tones  except  that  no  screen  is  used. 
They  cost  considerably  less  than  half-tones. 

WOOD-CUTS  are  engravings  made  on  wood 
and  are  often  used  in  illustrating  machinery,  etc., 
where  an  especial  sharpness  of  outline  is  desired. 

ELECTROTYPES  are  not  engravings  but  are 
duplicate  metal  copies  of  half-tones,  zinc  etchings  or 
wood-cuts.  Electrotypes  are  more  durable  than  the 
original  engravings.  They  are  generally  used  for 
"large  edition"  printing,  and  are  especially  useful 


In  Relation  to  Printing  29 

when  it  is  desirable  to  duplicate  the  same  copy  many 
times. 

STEELTYPES  are  similar  to  electros.  A  de- 
posit of  steel  is  first  made  on  the  face  of  the  mold, 
thus  making  the  printing  surface  hard  and  giving 
greater  wearing  qualities  and  sharpness.  They  are 
also  stronger  and  color  inks  have  no  effects  against 
them  as  against  electrotypes. 

PREPARING  "COPY."  By  "copy"  is  under- 
stood such  matter,  usually  manuscript,  reading  mat- 
ter or  cuts,  as  are  to  form  the  substance  of  the  cir- 
cular or  advertisement.  It  is  customary  for  the  ad- 
vertiser to  draw  roughly  the  general  idea  and  to  put 
the  matter  in  typewriting.  This  insures  him  against 
mis-spelled  words,  etc.  On  the  outline  "copy," 
or  roughly  drawn  sketch,  space  for  the  cuts  must  be 
allowed  and  the  size  indicated.  If  the  advertiser  is 
not  well  up  on  writing  and  preparing  "copy,"  it  is 
well  for  him  to  write  his  matter,  tell  the  printer 
about  how  and  where  he  wants  his  cuts  placed,  and 
leave  it  entirely  up  to  him.  When  the  proof  is  re- 
turned the  advertiser  can  make  any  change  he  de- 
sires, but  he  then  has  it  in  concrete  form  and  can  tell 
whether  it  suits  him  or  not.  This  he  can  not  do 
when  the  matter  is  in  skeleton  form.  In  getting  up 
a  circular — say  a  four-page  one — it  is  policy  for  the 
advertiser  to  get  up  a  dummy,  that  is,  to  fold  up  a 
piece  of  paper  about  the  size  of  the  proposed  circular, 


30    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

and  then  fill  in  the  material.  This  serves  as  a  guide 
to  the  printer  as  well  as  to  the  "copy-man."  In  pre- 
paring the  circular,  as  has  been  said  before,  the  lan- 
guage used  should  be  of  the  simplest  that  the  subject 
will  bear,  and  such  as  will  be  readily  understood  by 
every  person  who  reads  it.  In  a  circular  distribution 
the  advertiser  can  never  tell  where  it  is  going.  It 
should  be  free  from  extravagant  claims  for  superi- 
ority, etc.,  but  should  consist  of  the  fewest  possible 
words  needed  to  tell  the  story.  The  following  marks 
are  in  universal  use  for  correcting  "copy,"  or  for 
proof  reading. 

X  Change  bad  letter.  ty  Quotations. 

iO-Push  down  space.  */  Hyphen. 

9  Turn  over.  ///  Straighten  lines. 

&  Take  out  C  Move  over. 

A  Left  out;  insert  *I — Paragraph. 

#  Insert  space.  No  CJ — No  paragraph. 

/  Even  spacing.  w.  f. — Wrong  font. 

•^  Less  space.  .... — Let  it  stand. 

o  Close  up  entirely.  tr — Transpose. 

Q  Period.  Caps — Capital  letters. 

'/Comma.  s  c — Small  caps. 

Q  Colon.  1.  c. — Lower  small  letters. 

;/  Semicolon.  Ital.— Italics. 

*V  Apostrophe.  Rom. — Roman. 

When  a  proof  contains  a  number  of  errors, 
draw  a  line  from  each  mark  in  type  to  a  correspond- 
ing mark  in  the  margin.  The  advertiser  should  read 
all  proof  sheets  carefully,  especially  for  names,  ad- 
dresses, technical  terms  and  grammatical  construc- 
tion. Very  often  when  a  proof  is  not  read  care- 


In  Relation  to  Printing  3 1 

fully  errors  will  be  overlooked,  and  once  a  final  proof 
is  returned  these  can  not  be  changed.  Always  re- 
turn the  original  copy  with  the  proof,  and  mark 
"O.K."  or  "O.K."  with  corrections  as  the  case  may 
be.  The  printer  insists  that  his  proof  be  read  by  an 
authorized  party.  So  it  is  necessary  to  "O.K."  the 
proof  and  sign  your  initials  that  he  may  know  that 
the  proof  has  been  read  by  the  proper  person,  and 
that  he  has  the  authority  to  go  ahead.  It  is  some- 
times policy  for  the  advertiser  to  request  a  proof 
after  the  corrections  have  been  made.  If  this  is 
desired  it  can  be  noted  on  the  corrected  proof  sheet. 
Never  send  verbal  directions  by  messenger.  Always 
put  instructions  on  the  proof  sheet. 

TYPE  is  measured  up  and  down  and  not  by 
width.  When  reference  is  made  to  type  sizes,  each 
size  is  designated  according  to  points.  One  inch  of 
type  space,  measured  up  and  down,  contains  seventy- 
two  points.  This  is  the  accepted  number  of  points  of 
one  inch  of  type  space.  By  dividing  this  number  by 
the  size  of  any  type  in  points,  the  number  of  lines  of 
that  type  which  can  be  set,  solid,  in  one  inch  can  be 
determined.  For  instance,  by  dividing  seventy-two  by 
twelve  we  find  that  six  lines  of  twelve  point  type 
can  be  set  solid  in  an  inch.  The  terms  "condensed" 
and  "extended"  are  used  to  indicate  the  width  of 
the  type  face.  For  spacing  between  lines,  strips  of 
metal,  known  as  "leads"  are  used.  They  vary  in 


32    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

thickness  from  one  to  three  points.  When  type  is 
set  without  the  use  of  "leads"  it  is  said  to  be  set 
"solid."  When  "leads"  are  used  it  is  "leaded." 
When  type  is  leaded  it  usually  means  an  opening  of 
two  points  between  type  lines.  Thus  a  ten-point 
type,  "leaded,"  will  occupy  the  space  of  a  twelve- 
point  type  set  solid.  All  type  foundries  now  cast 
their  type  in  conformity  to  the  "point"  system  of 
measurement.  The  sizes  of  type  by  name  and  their 
designation  by  points  are  as  follows: 

Agate  Thomas  5^2  point 

Nonpareil  Thomas  6 

Minion  Thomas  7 

Brevier  Thomas  8         " 

Bourgeois  Thomas  9 

Long  Primer  Thomas  10        " 

Small  Pica  Thomas  11 

Pica  Thomas  12 

English  Thomas  14      " 

Great  Primer    THomaS          18 

COVER  STOCK  paper  is  made  in  various  sizes 
and  is  sold  by  the  ream.  The  usual  count  is  five 
hundred  sheets  to  the  ream.  As  the  name  indicates, 
cover  paper  is  used  for  making  catalog  covers,  book- 
lets, and  many  other  forms  of  advertising  printed 
matter.  It  can  be  obtained  in  all  grades,  tints,  colors 
and  blends,  and  in  rough  or  smooth  finish.  Different 
kinds  of  paper  stock  are  given  designating  names  by 


In  Relation  to  Printing  33 

the  manufacturer,  and  in  specifying  either  kind  of 
stock  it  is  well  to  name  a  brand  as  a  standard  of 
quality  to  be  used,  also  the  size  of  the  sheet,  weight 
to  the  ream,  the  finish  and  color. 

WOVE  FINISH  paper  is  practically  unfinished. 
It  has  an  antique  appearance. 

LAID  FINISH  is  different  in  that  wires  have 
been  pressed  against  it  as  it  passed  under  the  rollers. 

MACHINE  FINISH  is  a  smoother  paper  than 
antique,  having  been  passed  through  calendering 
rolls  which  are  heated  with  steam.  S.  &  C.  paper  is 
that  which  has  been  both  sized  and  calendered.  Siz- 
ing is  the  process  of  applying  a  resinous  substance  to 
the  surface  of  the  paper  which  makes  it  impervious  to 
ink.  S.  &  S.  C.  paper  is  that  which  has  been  sized 
and  super-calendered  to  give  it  a  higher  and  more 
glossy  finish. 

ENAMEL  FINISH  is  a  paper  which  has 
been  coated  with  China  clay  and  glue,  completely 
filling  the  pores  and  coating  the  surface. 

ANTIQUE  or  DULL  FINISH  paper  is  the 
same,  except  that  it  has  been  ironed  or  calendered  so 
as  to  give  it  a  dull  or  soft,  uneven  surface. 

CAMEO  FINISH  paper  is  that  which  has  been 
enameled  but  not  finished. 

EGG-SHELL  is  a  name  applied  to  paper  which 
has  been  roughened  in  a  particular  manner  to  re- 
semble an  egg-shell. 


34    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

ESTIMATING  the  quantity  of  paper  it  will 
take  for  a  "job"  is  an  important  thing  for  the  adver- 
tiser to  fully  understand.  It  will  save  him  a  good 
many  dollars  in  the  course  of  time.  To  illustrate 
how  to  estimate  the  quantity  of  paper  it  will  take 
for  a  "job"  we  will  take  the  following  example: 

Suppose  that  we  want  to  make  a  thousand  book- 
lets, sixteen  pages,  to  be  four  by  five  and  a  half 
inches  in  size.  The  question  to  be  determined  is 
what  sized  sheet  of  paper  stock  we  can  use  to  the 
best  advantage. 

In  the  first  place  we  take  the  number  of  pages 
of  the  booklet  and  get  a  multiple  of  the  size  of  the 
trimmed  page  that  will  produce  this  number.  For 
example :  By  grouping  four  pages  one  way  and  four 
pages  the  other  way,  making  four  rows  of  four  pages, 
we  find  that  we  will  need  a  sheet  sixteen  by  twenty- 
two  inches.  Type  forms  are  always  made  up  in 
multiples  of  four,  and  paper  comes  in  certain  stock 
sizes.  In  the  case  of  the  above  booklet  the  printer 
would  multiply  the  width  and  the  length  of  the  de- 
sired page  by  four,  and  would  then  see  what  stock 
size  of  paper  his  booklet  would  come  out  of  with 
the  least  waste.  In  the  above  example  each  sheet, 
sixteen  by  twenty-two,  will  make  two  booklets,  for 
the  reason  that  we  are  printing  on  both  sides  of  the 
sheet.  Therefore  in  making  a  thousand  booklets 
we  would  need  five  hundred  sheets  or  one  ream  of 


In  Relation  to  Printing  35 

paper,  sixteen  by  twenty-two,  or  one  fourth  ream 
stock  size  thirty-two  by  forty-four.  It  is  customary, 
in  estimating  the  amount  of  paper  to  add  an  addi- 
tional five  per  cent  for  waste  in  printing.  The 
customary  stock  sizes  of  paper  are  as  follows: 

17x22 
19x25 

25x38 
30^x41 

32x44 

It  is  important  for  the  man  who  advertises  to 
understand  the  fundamental  rules  of  the  printing 
business,  for  to  be  able  to  write  good  "copy"  and  to 
make  a  good  "lay-out"  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  be 
partly  a  printer.  The  advertising  man  is  very  often 
called  upon  to  estimate  a  "job,"  and  unless  he  under- 
stands the  printing  business,  in  a  small  way  at  any 
rate,  he  cannot  do  it.  It  is  the  old  theory  of  a  man 
making  himself  familiar  with  the  kindred  lines  of 
business  upon  which  his  own  occupation  is  founded. 
A  man  can  never  know  too  much  about  any  one  line 
of  business. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
ADVERTISING  MEDIUMS. 

THE  term  "medium"  may  be  construed  to  mean 
the  method  employed  by  the  advertiser  to  call 
attention  to  his  goods.  It  may  mean  electric  sign  or 
bill-board  advertising,  but  in  a  more  restricted  sense 
the  term  means  newspapers  and  magazines.  These 
have  several  subdivisions.  There  are  the  trade  jour- 
nals, weekly  publications,  religious  pamphlets  and 
the  standard  magazines. 

The  first  big  problem  which  confronts  the  adver- 
tiser when  on  the  point  of  starting  a  campaign  of 
advertising  is  the  selection  of  his  medium.  Whether 
to  use  space  in  the  daily  newspaper  or  in  a  magazine 
is  the  question  and  it  really  does  not  seem  as  if  it 
ought  to  be  hard  to  decide.  But  it  is.  The  news- 
paper lasts  only  for  one  day.  It  is  usually  read  in 
a  hurry.  The  magazine  lasts  for  thirty  days  or  more 
and  is  read  more  carefully.  Both  these  mediums  may 
be  used  in  connection  with  each  other,  however,  to 
good  advantage.  The  points  in  favor  of  magazine 
advertising  are  easily  seen.  The  quality  of  paper 
used  is  of  a  higher  grade  and  better  cuts  can  be  ob- 


Advertising  Mediums  37 

tained  than  in  a  newspaper.  The  circulation  of  a 
magazine  is  national  while  the  newspaper,  usually, 
is  circulated  only  in  the  state  in  which  it  is  printed. 
More  time  can  be  taken  in  preparing  "copy"  for  a 
newspaper  advertisement  for  it  will  be  accepted  a 
very  short  time  before  going  to  press.  A  magazine 
requires  "copy"  to  be  in  about  two  weeks  before 
publication  and  space  must  be  reserved  a  month  or 
so  in  advance. 

Simmering  down  the  selection  of  a  medium,  we 
must  realize  that  the  character  of  the  goods  to  be 
advertised  has  to  be  taken  into  careful  consideration. 
It  would  not  do  to  advertise  dress  goods  in  a  hard- 
ware journal,  would  it?  If  the  advertising  appro- 
priation is  limited  it  would  be  advisable  to  confine 
the  advertising  to  one  certain  locality  or  city  and 
"follow-up"  with  greater  regularity  than  to  take  in 
a  larger  territory. 

The  condition  of  trade  ofttimes  influences  the  ad- 
vertiser in  the  choice  of  mediums.  If  a  certain  terri- 
tory is  not  yielding  enough  business,  it  is  necessary 
to  put  concentrated  advertising  into  effect  in  that 
territory  for  a  given  time.  In  selecting  which  news- 
paper to  use  he  must  determine  its  character.  By 
its  character  we  mean  the  kind  of  people  who  read 
it.  This  applies  to  magazines  and  periodicals  as 
well.  In  every  city  there  are  papers  which  are  read 
by  the  better  class  of  business  people  and  wage  earn- 


38    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

ers  and  those  which  are  read  by  the  common  laborei 
and  the  less  educated.  These  are  the  more  sensa- 
tional papers.  It  would  not  do  to  advertise  an  arti- 
cle which  appeals  to  the  laboring  man  and  the  less 
educated  class  in  the  more  dignified  sheet.  The  read- 
ers would  pay  no  attention  to  it.  On  the  other  hand 
the  readers  of  the  sensational  sheet  would  probably 
read  it  with  care.  This  rule  works  both  ways. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  discussion  as  to 
the  advisability  of  using  the  morning  or  the  evening 
edition  of  a  paper.  No  set  rule  can  be  laid  down 
whereby  one  should  be  excluded  for  the  other.  Local 
conditions  would  govern  the  matter.  The  morning 
editions  are  usually  read  and  thrown  away  while 
going  downtown  to  work  while  the  evening  editions 
are  carried  home  and  are  read  by  the  entire  family. 
Certain  papers  have  a  reputation  for  being  especially 
good  mediums  for  certain  lines  of  goods.  All  these 
points  must  be  taken  into  consideration  in  selecting 
a  medium. 

In  New  York  City,  the  Times  is  considered  an 
especially  good  medium  by  the  publishers  of  books. 
A  supplement  is  issued  on  Sunday  which  is  entirely 
devoted  to  books.  Literary  people  have  come  to 
know  this.  So  they  buy  the  paper  especially  for  the 
book  news.  The  New  York  Herald  and  the  Times 
appeal  to  the  intelligent  wage  earner  and  business 
man.  The  World  appeal?  to  the  less  educated  class 


Advertising  Mediums  39 

and  to  the  laboring  man.  The  Sun  and  the  Post 
appeal  to  bankers  and  financial  people,  the  Sun  hav- 
ing a  special  evening  Financial  Edition.  The  Tele- 
gram appeals  to  the  theatrical  profession  and  the 
sporting  fraternity. 

The  manufacturer  or  advertiser  can  usually  get 
a  line  on  the  best  paper  to  use  by  asking  the  opinions 
of  his  customers  in  the  city  in  question.  The  paper 
with  the  largest  circulation  is  not  always  the  best 
medium  for  his  particular  purpose.  A  "large  cir- 
culation" statement  acts  as  a  "bait"  to  many,  but  for 
this  very  reason  many  dollars'  worth  of  advertising 
is  wasted.  The  writer  does  not  mean  to  say  that 
this  is  always  the  case.  A  large  circulation  is  a  big 
asset  to  the  advertiser  if  the  medium  is  one  that  will 
bring  him  results.  But  if  the  paper  with  the  large 
circulation  reaches  readers  who  can  do  the  advertiser 
no  good  the  money  is  wasted. 

The  selection  of  a  medium  among  the  trade  jour- 
nals is  comparatively  easy  as  compared  with  the 
newspapers  and  magazines.  In  the  trade  journals 
an  advertiser  can  be  sure  of  reaching  the  people  who 
are  directly  interested,  provided  his  article  has  an 
appeal  to  the  people  in  this  particular  trade.  A  re- 
view or  an  article  on  some  special  product  in  a  trade 
journal  is  an  effective  form  of  advertising  and  one 
which  can  be  handled  by  the  advertiser  very  easily. 
He  can  either  write  these  articles  himself  or  send 


40    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

trie  product,  free,  to  the  journal  and  allow  the  editor 
to  write  his  opinion  of  it.  Such  reviews  or  notices 
carry  a  great  deal  of  weight  with  the  readers  of  the 
trade  journals  and  the  editors  are  always  on  the 
lookout  for  articles  which  are  of  interest  to  their 
readers.  An  advertisement  in  a  trade  journal  is 
really  looked  upon  as  the  latest  information  regard- 
ing the  happenings  in  a  particular  trade.  It  is  read 
not  so  much  as  an  advertisement  as  a  news  item. 
These  articles,  or  advertisements,  are  read  in  a  care- 
ful manner  by  the  subscribers  and  that,  usually,  is 
about  all  an  advertiser  can  hope  for.  Convincing 
"copy"  in  the  trade  journals  will  produce  results. 
The  space  rates  are  much  less  than  in  the  standard 
magazines  for  the  reason  that  their  circulation  is  not 
so  large.  They  can  not  demand  big  rates.  A  great 
many  advertisers  still  cherish  the  foolish  idea  of 
"large  circulation,  large  returns."  It  is  not  un- 
common to  see  an  advertisement  for  boilers,  or  some 
technical  product,  in  a  national  magazine,  costing 
eight  or  nine  thousand  dollars  a  page,  when  this 
same  advertiser  would  scorn  the  use  of  the  trade 
journal  at  forty  dollars  a  page.  The  latter  would 
do  him  a  great  many  times  more  good.  It  would 
reach  the  very  people  he  is  trying  to  get  at  and  would 
reach  them  in  a  journal  which  they  read  religiously. 
The  writer  is  not  making  a  plea  for  the  trade  jour- 
nals. But  he  knows  from  experience  that  they  are 


Advertising  Mediums  41 

worthy  mediums  and  that  they  should  be  carefuly 
considered  by  the  advertiser  in  planning  a  campaign. 

Many  newspapers  and  magazines  offer  a  reduc- 
tion in  rates  if  the  advertiser  will  agree  to  use  so 
much  space  for  a  given  period  of  time.  In  the  news- 
papers the  saving  is  about  two  cents  per  agate  line. 
If  the  paper  is  one  which  the  advertiser  knows  and 
uses  often  it  is  a  good  plan  to  take  advantage  of 
this  offer.  On  the  other  hand  if  the  advertiser  is 
not  acquainted  with  the  medium  it  would  be  bad 
policy  to  agree  to  take  so  much  space.  He  does  not 
know  whether  the  medium  can  get  results  for  him 
in  his  own  particular  line.  This  is  another  form 
of  "bait."  If  the  advertiser  can  get  a  short-term 
contract  with  a  proviso  which  will  allow  him  to 
take  advantage  of  any  new  turn  in  his  trade,  the 
scheme  would  be  advisable,  especially  if  the  adver- 
tising appropriation  is  limited. 

This  touches  upon  the  ever-present  question  of 
"cut  rates."  The  advertiser  must  guard  against  be- 
ing induced  to  use  certain  mediums  simply  because 
they  are  a  little  cheaper  than  others.  The  money 
would,  in  all  probability,  be  absolutely  wasted. 
There  are  a  great  many  ways  in  which  an  advertiser 
may  be  "taken  in"  and  as  an  illustration  of  this  the 
writer  would  like  to  relate  a  personal  experience. 
A  man  came  into  his  office  one  day  and  showed  him 
a  financial  journal  with  a  column  write-up  on  sev- 


42    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

eral  big  firms  in  the  city.  He  said  that  he  would  like 
to  get  some  data  regarding  the  writer's  concern.  It 
looked  as  though  it  would  be  good  advertising  to 
have  the  write-up  so  the  desired  information  was 
cheerfully  given.  About  a  week  later  the  man  came 
again  and  wanted  to  know  how  many  copies  of  the 
journal  we  would  like  to  buy  for  our  own  use.  He 
immediately  began  to  talk  in  quantities  of  a  thousand 
or  more.  The  write-up  was  really  good  but  our  firm 
could  not  think  of  buying  a  thousand  copies  of  the 
journal.  We  took  fifty  copies,  more  to  gratify  the 
man  than  for  any  use  we  could  make  of  them. 
Shortly  afterward  we  learned  that  it  was  a  fake 
journal.  It  had  no  circulation  whatever.  It  simply 
existed  on  what  copies  could  be  sold  in  the  above 
manner.  This  story  is  told  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  are  new  in  the  advertising  profession,  for  it  is 
a  very  common  occurrence.  However,  the  office  of 
the  advertising  agency  is  gradually  doing  away  with 
such  practices  nowadays. 

Every  national  advertiser  should  study  carefully 
the  distribution  of  his  medium  as  to  territory.  It 
very  often  happens  that  in  one  city  his  medium  may 
have  a  large  circulation  while  in  another  city  it  may 
be  entirely  outclassed  by  some  other  of  the  same 
character. 

After  the  advertiser  has  decided  upon  the  medium 
he  is  going  to  use  he  must  figure  out  how  much 


Advertising  Mediums  43 

money  he  wants  to  spend  and  then  determine  what 
space  and  how  much  is  to  be  taken.  The  problem 
which  confronts  him  at  this  stage  is  whether  he  shall 
have  a  small  space  and  run  it  every  day  or  take  a 
larger  space  and  run  it  less  often.  In  solving  this 
problem  it  is  necessary  to  take  into  consideration  the 
nature  of  the  article  or  project  to  be  advertised.  If 
it  is  a  "removal  sale"  or  a  "big  reduction  sale"  or 
something  of  this  order,  it  would  seem  advisable  to 
use  the  larger  space.  If  the  article  to  be  advertised 
is  of  lasting  value,  or  something  good  for  every  day 
in  the  year,  it  would  be  better  to  use  the  smaller 
space  and  run  it  oftener.  The  amount  to  be  ex- 
pended will  usually  determine  this  point.  When  a 
small  amount  is  at  hand  it  is  always  best  to  use  the 
smaller  space,  while  if  the  appropriation  is  large  it 
is  policy  to  take  a  larger  space.  By  the  alternating 
use  of  a  large  space  one  day  and  a  small  space  the 
next,  good  results  are  obtained. 

The  choice  of  position  is  the  next  important 
step.  If  the  advertised  article  is  one  which  appeals 
to  the  sporting  element,  it  is  best  to  have  the  adver- 
tisement appear  on  the  sporting  sheet  of  the  paper. 
A  banker's  advertisement  should  appear  on  the 
financial  page,  and  so  it  is  with  other  things.  The 
amount  of  the  appropriation  will  also  solve  this 
problem,  for  different  positions  carry  different  rates. 


44    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

An  advertisement  surrounded  by  reading  matter 
is,  naturally,  much  more  valuable  than  one  in  any 
other  position  and  carries  a  higher  rate.  In  the 
magazines  the  front  and  back  covers  and  the  inside 
front  and  back  covers  are  the  most  desirable  and 
carry  the  highest  rates. 

The  advertiser  in  planning  a  campaign  should 
first  decide  upon  the  mediums  he  is  going  to  use. 
He  should  then  get  the  rate  cards  of  each  and  sit 
down  and  figure  out  just  how  much  space  he  intends 
to  use,  the  number  of  insertions,  and  the  position  he 
wants.  In  advertising,  the  thing  which  solves  all 
problems  is — "How  much  money  have  I  to  spend?" 
Let  the  advertiser  always  keep  this  in  mind,  and 
after  he  has  a  knowledge  of  how  to  proceed  in 
selecting  a  medium  from  the  many  offered,  the  rest 
will  be  easy. 


CHAPTER  V. 
FORM   LETTERS,   CIRCULAR  DISTRIBUTION,   ETC. 

OF  all  the  circular  matter  and  like  advertising 
sent  out,  how  much  do  you  suppose  is  really 
wasted?  There  is  no  way  of  determining  exactly, 
but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  amount  is  enormous. 
This  waste,  it  seems,  can  hardly  be  avoided.  Yet 
several  manufacturing  firms  have  adopted  a  method 
of  checking  up  the  circulars  they  send  out.  They, 
theoretically,  charge  the  dealer  with  so  much  adver- 
tising matter  and  follow  it  up  at  different  intervals 
with  letters.  The  first  letter  asks  if  the  advertising 
matter  has  been  received  and  if  it  has  been  sent  out. 
The  second  inquires  whether  any  results  have  been 
obtained  from  its  distribution,  and  so  on  in  other 
letters.  In  this  manner  the  manufacturer  can  get 
some  idea  as  to  whether  his  advertising  matter  is 
being  used  and  whether  it  is  getting  results  or  not. 
If  he  finds  that  the  advertising  is  being  wasted,  as 
is  so  often  the  case,  he  can  discontinue  sending  it 
and  can  perhaps  place  it  where  it  will  do  more  good. 
Advertising  by  means  of  circulars  is  very  bene- 


46    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

ficial  and  is  one  of  the  greatest  auxiliaries  in  a 
national  campaign.  In  order  to  obtain  the  best 
results  it  is  advisable  for  the  advertiser  to  send  out 
his  circulars  direct  rather  than  to  let  the  merchant 
do  it.  The  merchant  is  flooded  with  requests.  He 
cannot  do  it  for  all.  So  he  is  forced  to  be  discrim- 
inating. The  advertiser,  on  the  other  hand,  may 
purchase  the  Elite  Directories  of  the  different  large 
cities,  thus  getting  the  names  and  addresses  of  the 
most  prominent  people,  and  can  solicit  business 
direct  either  for  himself  or  for  the  retailer. 

The  mistake  made  by  a  great  many  advertisers 
is  in  making  a  cheap  circular.  These  are  invariably 
thrown  away.  The  larger  retail  stores,  department 
stores  for  instance,  receive  tons  of  advertising  mat- 
ter, and  unless  the  physical  appearance  of  the  cir- 
cular is  attractive  it  is  never  used.  Therefore  if  the 
advertised  article  is  a  fine  brand  of  toilet  soap,  or 
any  other  high-grade  article,  it  would  never  do  to 
send  out  anything  but  a  circular  in  which  a  fine 
quality  of  paper  is  used  and  the  style  of  which  is 
attractive.  It  is  very  beneficial  to  the  advertiser  to 
supply  the  retailer  with  imprinted  circulars  to  be 
inclosed  in  packages,  etc.  This  is  an  inexpensive 
form  of  distribution  and  assures  the  advertiser  that 
he  is  reaching  people  who  are  interested  in  his  line 
of  goods. 


Form  Letters  and  Circulars         47 

A  great  many  times  the  retailer  will  assist  the 
advertiser  in  his  circular  campaign  by  lending  him 
his  personally  compiled  mailing  list  of  the  customers 
of  his  store.  This  list  will  also  assure  the  adver- 
tiser that  his  circular  will  reach  a  number  of  people 
who  are  interested.  The  distribution  of  circular 
matter  must  be  studied  in  a  manner  similar  to  that 
of  selecting  an  advertising  medium.  First  decide 
how  many  circulars  are  to  be  sent  out.  Then  set 
about  to  get  a  mailing  list  of  the  right  people  to  be 
reached.  There  are  firms  which  make  a  business 
of  selling  mailing  lists  which  they  guarantee  to 
reach  a  certain  class  of  people. 

It  is  a  good  plan  for  the  manufacturer  to 
enclose  a  circular  in  the  package  of  his  products. 
Some  circulars  are  made  to  cover  all  the  articles  in  a 
firm's  line  and  should  be  enclosed  in  every  package 
the  firm  puts  on  the  market.  The  office  of  the  cir- 
cular in  an  advertising  campaign  is  very  important. 
It  can  be  made  to  bring  big  results  if  properly 
handled.  But  it  takes  more  personal  attention  as  to 
the  details  arising  from  it  than  any  other  form  of 
advertising,  hence  the  reason  for  so  many  failures 
in  getting  good  results. 

A  great  many  firms  employ  what  is  termed  a 
"publicity  man,"  whose  work  it  is  to  look  after  cir- 
cular campaigns  and  the  follow-up  correspondence. 
The  latter  is  just  as  important  as  the  original  cir- 


48    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

cular  distribution  and  must  be  well  taken  care  of  in 
order  to  get  the  best  results.  In  compiling  a  mail- 
ing list,  the  advertiser  can  use  the  roster  of  different 
big  clubs  and  the  latest  edition  of  "Who's  Who," 
both  of  which  assure  him  of  reaching  an  educated 
and  intelligent  class  of  people. 

In  sending  circulars  to  the  retailer  the  advertiser 
must  remember  that  unless  he  can  show  the  mer- 
chant where  he  can  make  money  by  the  distribution 
of  his  circulars  they  will  not  be  sent  out.  He  must 
always  bear  in  mind  that  advertising  matter  which 
is  unsolicited  by  the  dealer  is  wasted.  It  is  not 
wanted  and  no  attention  will  be  paid  to  it.  Here 
again,  as  stated  before,  if  the  advertiser  wants  to 
interest  the  retail  merchant,  he  should  not  send  him 
circulars  printed  on  the  poorest  material,  show  cards 
which  advertise  nothing  but  printers'  ink,  and  other 
advertising  aids  which  the  sender  thinks  are  cheap 
simply  because  they  cost  little.  The  dealer  can 
generally  estimate  them  for  about  what  they  are 
worth  and  will  throw  them  away.  For  this  reason 
it  is  advisable  for  the  advertiser,  in  starting  a  cir- 
cular campaign,  to  write  the  retail  trade  first  and 
ask  how  many  circulars  they  can  use  to  advantage. 
For  the  price  of  a  two-cent  stamp  many  dollars' 
worth  of  advertising  matter  may  be  saved.  To 
serve  as  an  illustration,  the  writer  will  relate  an 
experience  which  happened  to  him  a  short  time  ago. 


Form  Letters  and  Circulars         49 

We  were  preparing  a  seal  advertising  one  of  our 
products.  It  was  to  have  been  used  in  sticking  on 
correspondence,  etc.  We  were  getting  together  a 
list  of  firms  which  we  thought  would  use  this  seal 
and  calculating  the  quantities  they  would  probably 
want.  Two  firms  in  question  were  in  our  city. 
One  we  thought  would  want  five  hundred  and  the 
other  about  five  thousand.  By  chance  the  writer 
called  these  firms  on  the  'phone  to  ascertain  whether 
these  quantities  would  be  satisfactory  before  order- 
ing the  seals  from  the  printer.  The  firm  we 
thought  would  want  five  hundred  wanted  a  thou- 
sand, and  the  firm  we  thought  would  want  five 
thousand  did  not  want  any  at  all  and  could  not  use 
them.  The  buyer  for  the  latter  firm  said  that  he 
had  just  refused  a  similar  request  from  another 
house  and  in  order  not  to  show  partiality  would 
have  to  refuse  us  also.  This  goes  to  show  that  if 
we  had  sent  out  these  seals,  unsolicited,  they  would 
have  been  thrown  away  and  entirely  wasted.  Thus 
we  saved  about  fifteen  dollars  in  this  one  instance. 
If  such  happenings  occur  very  often  the  sum  lost  is 
astonishing. 

It  is  exactly  the  same  with  sending  out  circulars. 
A  manufacturer  does  not  seem  to  realize  that  his 
advertising  matter  is  only  one  bunch  out  of  perhaps 
several  thousand;  that  a  dealer  cannot  use  all  that 
is  sent  to  him  and  is  forced  to  be  discriminating  in 


SO    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

his  choice.  In  order  to  prevent  as  much  of  this 
waste  as  is  possible  the  advertiser  should  write  the 
retailer  and  find  out  whether  he  will  use  his  adver- 
tising matter,  and  if  he  will,  how  much  he  will 
require.  Circulars  distributed  with  the  dealer's 
imprint  are  equal  in  value  to  a  window  display  in 
that  they  also  carry  the  local  dealer's  guarantee  to 
the  readers. 

In  preparing  a  circular  the  advertiser  can  go 
into  a  more  detailed  description  of  his  product  pro- 
vided he  places  a  catchy  phrase,  which  is  designed 
to  attract  the  eye  of  the  reader,  at  the  heading  of 
his  circular.  Once  the  interest  of  the  reader  is 
aroused,  the  circular  is  usually  read  completely, 
but  the  first  glance  at  the  heading  will  tell  the 
reader  whether  the  advertised  article  is  of  interest 
to  him  or  not. 

Again,  it  is  a  hard  thing  for  an  advertiser  to 
determine  whether  a  circular  campaign  is  profitable 
or  not.  It  often  happens  that  the  consumers  take 
the  circular  to  their  local  dealer  and  there  purchase 
the  article  and  the  manufacturer  never  hears  of  the 
purchase.  The  advertiser  has  no  way  of  telling  in 
how  many  instances  this  is  the  case  and  what  few 
returns  he  does  receive  direct  lead  him  to  believe 
that  the  distribution  has  been  a  failure.  However, 
it  is  an  accepted  fact  among  advertisers  that  the 
distribution  of  circulars  is  one  of  the  greatest  sup- 


Form  Letters  and  Circulars         51 

plementary  aids  in  a  national  campaign,  and  if  the 
indirect  results  were  known,  as  are  the  direct  re- 
sults, the  distribution  will  be  found  to  have  been 
successful. 

Another  big  aid  in  an  advertising  campaign  is 
the  Form  Letter.  Its  style  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
circular  only  it  has  a  more  personal  appeal.  The 
body  of  the  letter  can  be  very  much  like  that  of  a 
circular  only  it  should  be  addressed  personally  to 
the  person  to  whom  it  is  sent.  A  man  will  usually 
read  a  letter  addressed  in  this  manner,  and  if  it  is 
cleverly  conceived  and  written  he  will  have  read  it 
through  before  he  realizes  that  it  is  an  advertise- 
ment. This  form  of  advertising  is  very  effective 
when  sent  to  retailers  but  is  not  generally  used  in 
large  distributions  owing  to  its  increased  cost  over 
that  of  the  circular.  The  form  letter  is  used  with 
good  effect  by  a  sales-manager  in  acquainting  his 
salesmen  and  agents  with  the  news  of  the  different 
happenings  in  the  trade.  Manufacturers  have 
mailing  lists  of  their  retail  customers  and  their 
clerks.  To  these,  form  letters  are  sent  at  different 
intervals.  Such  letters  usually  consist  of  "ginger 
talks"  or  interesting  information  regarding  the 
advertiser's  products.  If  a  decrease  or  an  increase 
in  the  market  occurs,  the  trade  is  notified  by  a  form 
letter,  or  in  this  case  it  might  be  termed  a  bulletin. 
Form  letters  can  be  printed  on  the  multigraph  or 


52    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

mimeograph  at  a  very  small  cost  over  the  actual 
value  of  the  lettei  heads,  and  it  is  very  hard  to 
distinguish  the  finished  letter  from  a  regular  type- 
written one. 

A  form  letter  campaign  is  often  followed  by 
requests  from  the  recipients  for  further  information 
regarding  the  advertised  article.  In  such  cases  it  is 
best  to  answer  the  requests  with  a  personal  letter, 
accompanied  by  a  descriptive  circular.  At  this  point 
it  would  seem  wise  that  an  order  blank  be  attached 
to  the  circular.  If  the  circular  is  four  pages,  let 
the  back  page  be  made  into  an  order  form.  Thus 
the  matter  of  ordering  an  article  is  simplified.  The 
customer  has  only  to  fill  out  a  printed  form  and 
mail  it  back  to  the  advertiser.  This  saves  writing 
a  letter  and  very  often  means  an  order,  while  if  the 
customer  had  to  write  a  letter  to  order  the  article 
he  would  perhaps  pass  it  up. 

Order  blanks  in  the  form  of  a  private  mailing 
card  are  productive  of  good  results.  These  can  be 
used  in  connection  with  a  form  letter  or  a  circular 
campaign.  The  two  combined  tell  the  whole  story. 
The  circular  or  form  letter  describes  the  article 
and  the  order  form  solicits  the  order.  The  more 
simple  it  is  for  a  person  to  buy  an  article  the  more 
likely  he  is  to  buy.  If  he  must  go  through  a  long 
rigmarole  in  order  to  get  an  article  it  is  more  than 
likely  that  he  will  not  take  the  time.  This  applies 


Form  Letters  and  Circulars          S3 

to  the  busy  man  who  says  "I  could  use  it  if  I  had 
it,"  and  not  the  man  who  is  really  interested  and 
wants  the  article.  The  latter  would  get  it  if  it  took 
a  year. 

In  advertising  by  circular  or  form  letter,  the 
publicity  man  must  keep  what  is  termed  a 
"follow-up"  file.  In  this  file  he  should  note  every- 
thing pertaining  to  his  distribution  as  a  key  to  his 
follow-up  correspondence.  The  writer  once  put  on 
a  combined  circular  and  form  letter  campaign  for 
an  article  appealing  to  the  automobile  dealers  and 
kindred  trades.  The  first  step  was  to  prepare  a 
good  descriptive  circular  of  the  article  and  then  a 
form  letter,  written  so  as  to  show  that  if  the  article 
was  adopted  it  would  prove  of  great  benefit.  These 
were  sent  out  to  a  selected  list  of  automobile  people. 
The  list  was  preserved  so  that  as  answers  came  in 
the  names  were  checked  off.  To  those  who  had 
not  answered  within  a  reasonable  length  of  time 
another  letter  was  sent.  The  answers  received 
consisted  principally  of  requests  for  more  detailed 
information  regarding  the  advertised  article  and 
for  prices  in  quantities,  etc.  All  correspondence  in 
connection  with  this  campaign  was  filed  separately 
from  the  regular  correspondence.  The  publicity 
man  had  the  results  of  the  campaign  always  at 
hand.  He  could  handle  the  details  intelligently 
and  without  a  great  deal  of  extra  work. 


54    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

In  all  concerns  requests  for  prices,  circulars, 
catalogues,  etc.,  come  in  with  every  mail  and  it  is 
policy  for  the  publicity  man  to  transcribe  these 
names  and  addresses  to  a  card  index,  filing  them 
under  the  heading  of  the  different  articles  or  prod- 
uct of  interest.  These  addresses  are  good  for 
future  use  and  when  a  circular  distribution  is  to  be 
made,  it  is  policy  to  include  these  names  in  with 
the  regular  mailing  list,  for  the  advertiser  already 
knows  that  these  people  are  interested  in  his 
product.  In  a  circular  or  form  letter  campaign  it 
is  necessary  for  the  advertiser  to  be  systematic.  He 
should  keep  a  record  of  every  little  happening. 
Otherwise  he  will  soon  lose  control  of  the  situation 
and  the  efficiency  of  the  entire  distribution  will  be 
affected.  One  man  should  handle  such  a  distribu- 
tion and  be  held  responsible  for  it. 

System  should  be  the  middle  name  of  every 
advertiser.  Without  it  he  will  be  lost  and  will  be 
swamped  with  the  minor  details.  It  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  have  some  particular  system  for 
follow-up  correspondence.  A  great  many  firms  use 
what  is  known  as  the  "tickler"  system  and  find  it 
very  successful.  They  have  what  is  called  a 
"tickler"  file,  and  when  a  letter  comes  in  on  the 
tenth  and  has  to  be  answered  on  the  twentieth,  the 
date  is  noted  on  the  "tickler"  memo.  The  original 
is  filed  with  the  letter  and  the  duplicate  filed  under 


Form  Letters  and  Circulars          55 

dates  in  the  "tickler"  file.  The  letter  will  then 
come  up  automatically  on  the  desired  date  and  can 
be  answered,  for  it  is  the  stenographer's  duty  to 
open  her  "tickler"  file  the  first  thing  in  the  morning 
and  get  the  letters  to  be  answered  out  of  the  regular 
file.  There  are  other  systems  in  use  but  this  seems 
to  be  the  easiest  as  well  as  the  most  efficient. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PREMIUMS,   THE  RETAIL   MERCHANT   AND   His 
CLERKS. 

HOW  important  it  is  for  the  manufacturer  to 
watch  every  step  in  the  distribution  of  his 
goods  is  seen  in  the  failure  of  some  firms  to  reach 
the  consumer  effectively  even  after  they  have  gained 
his  interest.  The  offering  of  premiums  is  a  method 
which  cannot  be  overlooked,  for  in  this  manner  the 
interest  of  the  whole  store  or  family  is  enlisted.  It 
is  an  excellent  plan  for  the  manufacturer  to  include 
a  premium  certificate  in  the  package  of  his  product. 
These  certificates,  if  saved,  are  good  for  premiums 
such  as  household  articles,  etc.  The  American 
Family  Soap  Company  pursues  this  practice  and 
finds  good  results  forthcoming.  In  every  package 
of  soap  is  a  certificate.  These  are  good  for 
premiums  if  saved. 

Newspapers  very  often  take  advantage  of  the 
premium  plan  of  advertising  to  increase  their  cir- 
culations, and  it  is  found  to  be  very  effective. 
Trading  stamps  are  given  out  by  certain  stores  and 
are  redeemable  in  premiums.  As  an  incentive 


Premiums  and  the  Merchant         57 

to  buy  certain  brands  of  goods  the  interest  of  every- 
one in  the  family  is  gained.  The  youngster  wants 
a  new  sled,  the  mother  wants  a  new  piece  of  furni- 
ture and  the  father  wants  a  new  pipe.  All  are 
saving  certificates  given  with  different  products  to 
get  these  articles.  In  such  cases,  and  they  are 
numerous,  it  would  be  considered  a  sin  not  to 
buy  goods  with  which  a  premium  was  given.  My 
own  good  wife,  for  instance,  will  hardly  allow  me 
to  buy  a  cigar  outside  of  the  United  Cigar  Stores. 
She  is  saving  certificates  to  get  some  sort  of  a 
premium.  The  premium  scheme  surely  does  work 
out  in  a  satisfactory  manner  and  certainly  is  good 
advertising  for  the  manufacturer.  A  retailer  may 
use  the  premium  plan  of  advertising  with  good  re- 
sults, and  on  a  very  much  smaller  scale  than  that 
of  the  manufacturer.  He  can  offer  a  premium  with 
every  one,  five,  ten  or  twenty  dollar  purchase  and 
have  only  a  small  number  of  premiums  from  which 
to  select,  or  he  can  pursue  the  certificate  plan. 

Cash  registers  are  so  made  nowadays  that  with 
every  purchase  the  customer  gets  a  numbered  re- 
ceipt. The  one  holding  the  lucky  number  on 
Saturday  night  gets  a  premium.  This  is  a  good 
retail  premium  scheme.  Such  plans  produce  good 
results  during  the  Christmas  holidays.  The  manu- 
facturer can  use  the  premium  plan  of  advertising 
very  effectively  in  connection  with  the  retail  mer 


58    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Kno<w 

chant.  If  the  retailer  buys  a  gross  of  an  article  he 
gets  a  dozen  of  the  same  article  free,  etc. 

This  really  amounts  to  the  same  thing  as  an 
extra  discount  only  that  it  is  put  up  to  the  dealer 
in  a  different  light.  Some  manufacturing  concerns 
dislike  to  go  on  record  as  giving  an  extra  discount 
in  order  to  get  business,  so  the  premium  plan  with 
the  retailer  accomplishes  the  same  purpose.  News- 
papers, in  increasing  their  circulation,  sometimes 
offer  a  book  or  a  set  of  books  free  with  every  new 
subscription.  Voting  contests  are  held  by  the  news- 
papers and  the  winner  is  offered  an  extensive  trip 
of  some  sort. 

All  of  these  methods  are  styles  of  advertising 
and  have  proved  very  successful  in  that  they  arouse 
the  interest  of  the  prospective  customer  in  the 
advertised  article.  Let  the  buyer,  whether  he  be 
a  retail  merchant  or  the  ultimate  consumer,  think 
that  he  is  getting  something  for  nothing  and  the 
sale  is  virtually  made.  It  is  human  nature.  We 
can't  get  away  from  it.  Look  through  the  adver- 
tising columns  of  any  of  our  standard  magazines 
and  notice  how  many  different  advertisements  read, 
"Send  us  ten  cents  to  cover  postage  and  we  will 
send  you  FREE  such  and  such  an  article."  The 
very  fact  that  the  magic  word  free  is  there  in  black 
and  white  is  what  makes  the  average  American 
reader  answer  advertisements. 


Premiums  and  the  Merchant        59 

In  the  olden  days  a  great  many  advertisements 
were  fakes,  pure  and  simple,  but  today  the 
reputable  magazines  reject  any  that  are  misleading. 
There  are  national  laws  now  which  cover  this 
point.  Manufacturing  concerns  which  are  legit- 
imate may  use  this  form  of  advertisement,  sell  a 
sample  package  of  their  product  for  ten  cents  and 
give  away  free  a  handsome  illustrated  booklet. 
This  booklet  is  really  an  illustrated  circular  for 
their  product  and  is  so  worded  that  the  sale  of  a 
larger  package  of  the  product  is  solicited.  From 
this  sort  of  an  advertisement  the  names  and 
addresses  of  people  who  are  interested  are  learned, 
and  if  for  no  other  reason  this  style  pays.  This 
kind  of  advertising  is  used  largely  by  patent  med- 
icine companies,  but  is  successful  in  other  lines  of 
business. 

A  firm  can  work  off  a  "job-lot,"  or  a  remainder, 
by  means  of  the  premium  form  of  advertising,  and 
produce  good  results.  In  putting  on  a  campaign  of 
this  kind  the  advertiser  cannot  afford  to  overlook 
the  clerks  in  the  retail  store.  Give  them  some  in- 
centive for  pushing  your  line  of  goods.  Results 
will  be  forthcoming.  The  manufacturer  may  go 
to  the  retail  merchant  with  an  attractive  price  on 
a  certain  article  and  allow  him  to  pay  his  clerks  a 
commission  on  each  article  sold.  The  general  term 
applied  to  the  tipping  of  clerks  is  called  "offering 


60    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

a  PM."  If  the  manufacturer  pays  the  PM,  the 
record  of  sales  is  kept  by  the  merchant  and  turned 
in  at  stated  intervals. 

Drug  stores  frequently  offer  the  clerks  a  com- 
mission of  three  or  five  per  cent  on  every  sale  of 
the  store's  own  brand  of  products.  This  is  also  a 
favorite  scheme  of  the  grocer  for  marketing  break- 
fast foods,  etc.  If  a  store  has  an  overstock  on  some 
certain  article  the  plan  of  offering  PMs  to  the 
clerks  is  a  good  means  of  reducing  the  quantity, 
and  a  great  many  stores  use  this  method  to  stimu- 
late business  during  dull  periods,  while  others  use 
it  only  in  connection  with  demonstrations  in  the 
store  by  experts.  Demonstrating  firms  think  that 
by  thus  gaining  the  clerks'  co-operation  the  atten- 
tion of  the  customers  will  be  brought  to  their  prod- 
ucts, and  this  is  usually  the  case.  It  illustrates  the 
psychology  of  the  "clerk  tipping  system"  of 
advertising. 

The  demonstration  form  of  advertising  is  bene- 
ficial to  the  retailer  and  is  pursued  by  a  great  many 
manufacturers.  Window  demonstrations,  as  well  as 
those  held  in  the  store,  are  the  forms  in  general  use. 
By  having  a  demonstration  in  the  window  of  a 
store  great  crowds  are  attracted  and  their  attention 
gained,  which  is  the  primary  object  of  every  adver- 
tising scheme.  Hardware  specialties  are  advertised 
in  this  way  a  great  deal,  but  it  is  a  form  which  can 


Premiums  and  the  Merchant        61 

be  and  is  used  with  good  results  in  many  different 
lines  of  business. 

Coming  back  to  the  subject  of  "clerk  tipping," 
the  writer  would  say  that  the  great  danger  in  this 
method  is  that  it  becomes  more  and  more  expen- 
sive. Each  company  tries  to  win  the  good  will  of 
each  clerk  by  offering  him  a  little  larger  tip  than 
his  competitor,  the  result  being  that  no  one  gains 
anything.  In  time  the  clerks'  commission  amounts 
to  more  than  the  manufacturer  can  afford  to  pay. 
It  then  becomes  a  great  temptation  for  the  manu- 
facturer to  lower  the  quality  of  his  goods  to  make 
up  the  additional  cost  of  marketing. 

The  large  and  wealthy  firm  can  advertise  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  retailer  will  practically  be 
forced  into  handling  its  products.  If  an  article  is 
repeatedly  called  for  by  his  customers  the  retailer 
will  ask  himself  whether  he  is  not  missing  some- 
thing, and  in  all  probability  will  order  a  small 
quantity  of  the  advertised  article  from  his  jobber 
in  case  of  further  demand.  It  is  a  great  detriment 
to  a  retail  store  to  repeatedly  tell  its  customers  that 
they  are  out  of  an  article  or  that  they  never  had  it. 
A  merchant  does  not  want  his  customers  to  think 
that  he  is  not  up-to-date  or  that  he  is  not  handling 
a  popular  brand  of  goods.  The  merchant  and  his 
clerks  must  be  regarded  by  the  manufacturer  as  a 
part  of  his  sales  organization  and  treated  accord- 
ingly. 


62    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

The  retailer  is  of  peculiar  make-up.  He  repre- 
sents the  goal  to  be  reached  by  every  manufacturer 
in  the  land  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  does  not 
enthuse  over  a  new  line  of  products.  He  is  not 
willing  to  buy  a  line  that  he  can  just  as  well  get 
along  without.  On  the  other  hand  he  is  in  business 
to  make  money,  and  if  a  manufacturer  can  show 
him  where  he  will  profit  by  handling  certain  goods 
he  will  place  them  in  stock.  There  is  such  a  great 
over-production  in  every  line  of  business  today  that 
the  retail  merchant  is  forced  to  be  discriminating 
in  order  to  protect  himself. 

Many  manufacturers  make  the  great  mistake  of 
shaving  the  retailers'  profits.  Yet  they  still  expect 
him  to  enthuse  over  their  line.  He  is  human  and 
will  enthuse  over  the  goods  only  which  he  can  sell 
at  a  fair  profit.  Given  a  good  profit  to  work  on  he 
will  co-operate  with  the  manufacturer  by  advertis- 
ing locally,  and  will  commission  his  clerks  to  push 
his  brand  of  goods.  In  other  words,  the  maufac- 
turer  should  make  the  retailer  his  salesman.  He 
should  give  him  every  advantage,  so  that  he  can 
make  good,  just  the  same  as  he  does  with  his  travel- 
ing-men. By  this  is  not  meant  that  the  manufac- 
turer should  finance  the  business  for  the  retailer. 
But  he  should  give  him  all  the  aid  that  he  can  in  an 
advertising  way.  Give  him,  first  of  all  a  living 
profit.  The  running  expenses  of  the  average  retail 


Premiums  and  the  Merchant        63 

store  are  high  and  the  merchant  cannot  pay  his 
bills  if  he  has  to  spend  all  his  income  for  the  other 
expenses.  Keep  him  posted  as  to  the  different  hap- 
penings in  the  trade.  Give  him  advantage  of  a  lit- 
tle turn  in  the  market  whereby  he  can  save  a  few 
cents  on  an  article. 

Advertising  through  the  retail  merchant  is  one 
of  the  most  valuable  mediums  the  advertiser  has  at 
hand  and  it  is  one  which  can  produce  lasting  re- 
sults at  a  nominal  cost.  The  writer  gave  a  large 
retail  firm  a  flat  rate  on  a  certain  article  just  to 
prove  that  the  above  assertion  was  true.  The  mer- 
chant was  not  held  up  for  a  big  quantity  to  get  this 
flat  rate  but  could  buy  this  certain  article  as  he 
wanted  it  and  still  get  the  low  rate.  As  an  appre- 
ciation of  this  special  rate  the  retailer  gave  all  the 
goods  a  prominent  place  in  his  store  and  the  writer 
knows  positively  that  he  instructed  all  his  clerks  to 
push  the  whole  line.  This  was  certainly  getting 
good  advertising  at  a  low  cost  and,  in  addition,  the 
orders  resulting  from  the  clerk's  pushing  our  line 
more  than  paid  us.  In  this  case,  also,  the  clerks 
were  pushing  our  line  without  the  aid  of  a  "PM" 
from  us.  The  merchant,  however,  might  have  paid 
the  PM  himself  in  view  of  the  flat  rate  we  gave 
him,  but  if  so,  we  never  heard  of  it. 

A  retailer  must  be  taught  by  the  manufacturer 
to  see  the  advantages  to  be  gained  by  selling  his 


64    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

goods.  It  must  be  impressed  upon  his  mind  that 
they  are  reliable.  Show  him  what  personal  satis- 
faction he  will  find  in  pleasing  his  customers.  His 
reputation  for  handling  reliable  goods  will  be  an 
asset  to  him.  His  clerks  will  be  respected  for  their 
ability  to  dispose  of  a  reliable  line  of  products.  The 
customers  will  be  pleased. 

Press  these  points  home  in  the  mind  of  the  mer- 
chant and  his  clerks.  Give  the  merchant  a  good 
profit.  Make  him  feel  that  he  is  a  part  of  your 
organization.  Help  him  to  sell  your  products  by 
supplementary  advertising.  Last  of  all,  keep  your 
trade  mark  in  his  mind.  You  will  have  him,  as 
well  as  his  clerks,  enthusiastic  over  your  line.  Once 
this  has  been  accomplished  the  advertiser  will  have 
the  greatest  of  all  advertising  aids — Enthusiasm — 
at  his  disposal. 

This  end  has  to  be  brought  about  in  a  gradual 
manner.  It  may  take  some  time.  Its  value,  in 
advertising,  is  worth  any  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
advertiser.  In  co-operating  with  the  retail  mer- 
chant it  is  a  good  plan  to  send  him  electros  of  your 
different  products  for  use  in  his  local  advertising. 
Clothing  firms  do  this.  They  prepare  the  "copy" 
themselves  and  have  it  electrotyped,  leaving  a  space 
at  the  bottom  for  the  insertion  of  the  merchant's 
name.  A  retailer  sometimes  wants  the  manufacturer 
to  take  advertising  in  some  local  project  in  which 


Premiums  and  the  Merchant        65 

he  is  particularly  interested.  It  is  always  a  good 
plan  for  the  advertiser  to  co-operate  to  a  reasonable 
extent.  "Scratch  my  back  and  I'll  scratch  yours" 
is  the  retailer's  motto. 

This  chapter  is  not  intended  to  act  as  a  plea 
for  the  retail  merchant  but  to  impress  upon  the 
minds  of  the  advertisers  the  value  of  the  retailer  and 
his  clerks  in  a  national  campaign  of  advertising. 
It  is  less  costly  than  any  other  form  of  advertising 
and  gives  the  advertiser  something  tangible  to  work 
upon.  So  take  the  retail  merchant  into  your  plans 
for  a  campaign  of  advertising.  It  is  an  important 
step  towards  success. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
HOUSE  ORGANS. 

HOUSE  organs  may  be  divided  into  several 
classes,  namely,  those  which  reach  the  dealer, 
those  which  reach  the  consumer  and  those  which 
reach  branch  offices,  agents  and  salesmen.  The 
house  organ  enables  the  advertiser  to  tell  his  story 
entire  and  in  detail,  to  illustrate  his  product  pro- 
fusely and  at  the  same  time  give  his  advertisement 
the  benefit  of  direct  association  with  the  editorial 
matter.  Perhaps  the  best  and  most  useful  style  of 
a  house  organ,  for  the  advertiser,  is  the  one  reach- 
ing the  retail  merchant.  Appearing  regularly  as  it 
does  it  has,  like  a  calendar,  a  cumulative  effect  in 
influencing  the  dealer.  Going  as  it  does  straight  to 
the  desk  of  the  business  man  who  is  directly  inter- 
ested in  the  products  advertised,  it  brings  the  ad- 
vertisement to  the  right  man  at  the  right  time. 

In  making  a  house  organ  the  manufacturer  must 
use  great  care  in  its  preparation.  The  character 
of  its  contents  should  tend  to  educate  the  retailer  as 
well  as  to  entertain  him.  Points  which  will  lead  to 
greater  profits  and  larger  success  must  be  made. 


House  Organs  67 

In  order  to  assure  the  financial  success  of  their 
house  organs  many  firms  accept  outside  advertis- 
ing. But  this  hardly  seems  wise.  Every  outside 
advertisement  detracts  from  the  fundamental  pur- 
pose and  the  publication  becomes  more  of  a  trade 
journal. 

A  certain  firm  with  which  the  writer  was  con- 
nected for  a  number  of  years  issued  a  house  organ 
monthly,  and  it  was  published  more  for  the  benefit 
of  their  wholesale  department  than  for  the  manu- 
facturing end.  The  firm  was  a  large  wholesaling, 
manufacturing  and  retailing  concern  and  the  house 
organ  was  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  departments, 
the  manufacturing  department  being  the  smallest 
of  the  three.  In  a  case  like  this  it  was  policy  to  ac- 
cept advertising  from  all  manufacturers,  for  such 
outside  advertising  really  solicited  business  for  the 
wholesale  department.  The  fact  was  prominently 
displayed  that  all  goods  advertised  in  the  house 
organ  were  for  sale  by  this  firm.  This  resulted  in 
good  business  for  the  wholesale  department.  One 
man  had  entire  charge  of  the  house  organ.  He  de- 
voted all  his  time  to  keeping  up  the  standard  of  in- 
terest and  the  trade  really  looked  forward  to  re- 
ceiving it.  Topics  of  interest  to  the  trade  were 
discussed  and  the  new  products  of  the  month  were 
listed.  The  object  was  to  make  the  house  organ  so 
indispensable  to  the  dealers  that  they  would  keep  it 


68    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

on  file  for  future  reference.  Several  thousand 
copies  of  the  house  organ  were  distributed  among 
the  firm's  retail  customers  and  the  December  issue, 
especially,  produced  big  results.  This  same  house 
organ  was  sent  regularly  to  the  firm's  traveling 
salesmen,  and  in  case  inside  information  was  to  be 
given  to  the  salesmen,  the  matter  was  run  off  on  a 
multigraph  and  enclosed  with  the  house  organ. 
Some  firms  make  their  house  organs  adaptable  only 
for  their  salesmen  and  agents  but  in  the  above  case 
the  one  large  house  organ  was  made  to  cover  all 
classes. 

In  starting  a  house  organ  the  manufacturer 
should  first  see  to  it  that  he  has  an  editor  who  can 
maintain  a  certain  high  standard  of  reading  mat- 
ter and  a  man,  usually  the  sales  manager,  who  can 
combine  with  the  editor  in  writing  snappy,  straight- 
from-the-shoulder  business  and  selling  talks.  These 
two  items  are  essential  for  the  success  of  a  house 
organ.  The  advertising  manager  can  take  care  of 
the  advertising  in  the  house  organ,  but  if  outside 
advertisements  are  accepted  it  is  necessary  for  a 
competent  man  to  be  in  charge  of  this  department. 
In  a  large  establishment  a  house  organ  can  be  pub- 
lished without  any  great  additional  expense  simply 
by  dividing  the  work  necessary  in  publishing  it  be- 
tween the  different  department  heads. 


House  Organs  69 

Advertising  in  house  organs  is  considered  by  all 
advertisers  to  be  one  of  the  best  mediums  at  their 
disposal.  They  are  able  to  trace  big  sales  as  a  re- 
sult of  such  advertising.  The  cost  of  printing  a 
house  organ  is  comparatively  small  if  an  edition  of 
ten  thousand  or  more  can  be  used.  The  postage 
is  the  greatest  item.  The  actual  cost  of  printing 
can  be  done  for  a  few  cents  a  copy,  depending,  of 
course,  upon  the  size  and  the  edition.  When  the 
house  organ  is  of  small  form,  great  expense  can 
be  saved  by  printing  two  issues  at  the  same  time. 
The  saving  in  doing  this  would  be  in  the  press  work, 
for  the  publisher  would  be  able  to  print  a  thirty-two 
or  sixty-four  page  form  at  one  time  and  could  then 
cut  the  sheet  in  two. 

Effective  advertising  is  gained  by  the  publisher 
of  a  house  organ  at  a  very  low  cost  and  by  means 
of  it  the  customer  can  be  reached  regularly  and 
forcibly.  In  some  house  organs  columns  for  ' 'posi- 
tions wanted"  and  "help  wanted"  are  often  main- 
tained for  the  interest  of  certain  readers.  Funny 
columns  are  also  inserted  as  a  means  of  getting  the 
interest  of  the  clerks  and  other  employees  around 
the  store.  Hints  for  window  arrangements  and 
photographs  of  different  effective  displays  are  given, 
as  well  as  other  advertising  tips  for  the  use  of  the 
dealer  in  his  local  advertising.  These  are  put  forth 


70    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

so  that  the  house  organ  becomes  an  item  of  great 
interest  to  the  retail  merchant. 

If  two  or  more  kindred  trades  are  to  be  reached 
it  would  be  best  to  devote  a  small  house  organ  to 
each  trade  rather  than  to  try  and  make  a  large  one 
do  for  all.  It  is  hard  to  make  this  kind  of  reading 
matter  of  interest  to  more  than  one  trade.  If  this 
is  tried  the  entire  effect  of  the  house  organ  may  be 
lost  and  in  the  end  nothing  will  be  gained. 

Big  results  can  be  obtained  in  the  editorial  col- 
umns, for  while  these  seem  to  be  unbiased  in  their 
line  of  talk,  they  are  in  reality  strong  selling  argu- 
ments for  the  products  of  the  publisher  of  the  house 
organ. 

Some  concerns  imprint  copies  of  their  house 
organs  for  use  by  the  retailers.  These  are  given  out 
by  the  dealers  and  are  productive  of  good  local  re- 
sults. When  outside  advertising  is  accepted,  copies 
of  the  house  organ  are  imprinted  for  the  dealer  and 
sold  to  them  at  a  nominal  cost.  In  such  cases  a  cer- 
tain quantity  is  subscribed  for  each  month.  The 
publisher  then  knows  just  how  large  an  edition  he 
has  to  print.  The  writer  knows  of  one  retail  firm 
which  uses  fifteen  thousand  copies  of  a  house  organ 
in  the  month  of  December.  House  organs  run 
along  such  lines  can  be  made  to  show  a  good  profit 
to  a  concern,  but  it  necessitates  making  the  organ 
impartial.  The  trade  will  not  subscribe  for  it  if 


House  Organs  71 

it  advertises  only  the  concern's  own  brand  of  goods. 
In  this  case  they  think  that  it  ought  to  be  furnished 
to  them  free  of  charge  and  that  they  are  doing  the 
publisher  a  favor  by  distributing  it  each  month. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  house  organ  is  impartial 
and  advertises  a  great  many  different  brands  of 
goods,  the  retailers  will  pay  for  their  subscriptions. 
They  are  glad  to  be  able  to  get  such  a  publication, 
for  it  has  been  proven  that  good  results  can  be  ob- 
tained by  the  distribution  of  it. 

If  the  house  organ  is  run  on  an  impartial  basis 
the  publisher  should  not  take  all  the  choice  space 
for  himself  but  should  take  his  chances  with  the 
other  advertisers  in  getting  position.  Also,  it  is  not 
policy  for  the  manager  to  use  too  much  space  for 
his  own  products  lest  the  dealer  get  the  idea  that  he 
is  paying  to  advertise  the  publisher's  line  of  goods. 
A  firm  should  use  its  house  organ  just  the  same 
as  it  does  any  other  medium.  It  is  not  wise 
to  use  over  one  or  two  full  pages  in  an  issue.  The 
impartial  house  organ  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  sort 
of  a  trade  journal.  So  many  are  published  on  this 
basis  and  are  so  called.  So  we  accept  them  as  such. 

Insurance  companies  issue  house  organs  to  their 
agents  for  the  purpose  of  giving  them  the  different 
changes  in  rates,  etc.,  to  give  them  hints  as  to  how 
their  business  can  be  increased  and  other  like  infor- 
mation which  is  of  general  interest  to  the  insurance 


72    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

business.  This  style  of  a  house  organ  has  been 
steadily  growing  in  favor  and  is  now  used  very  ex- 
tensively. It  produces  good  results. 

The  house  organ  which  is  issued  for  the  pur- 
pose of  reaching  the  consumer  should  be  made  more 
general  in  its  standard.  The  advertising  should 
read  differently  from  that  which  goes  to  the  retailer. 
To  show  the  benefit  to  be  derived  by  the  use  of  the 
advertised  article  is  the  style  best  adapted  for  ad- 
vertising in  a  house  organ  of  this  nature.  The  De- 
cember issue  should  contain  suggestions  for  the  holi- 
day shopper.  The  advertisements  should  be  made 
in  sectional  form,  and  under  each  different  heading 
suggestions  for  the  man,  the  woman  and  the  child 
should  be  given.  Christmas  buying  is  a  perplexing 
problem  for  the  average  buyer,  and  such  timely  sug- 
gestions are  gratefully  received. 

Manufacturers  of  food  products  offer  recipes 
for  cooking  or  preparing  dainty  dishes,  using  their 
own  products,  of  course.  They  incorporate  these 
suggestions  in  their  house  organ  under  the  heading 
"How  to  use  such  and  such  brand  of  products." 
The  Postum  Cereal  Company  pursues  this  plan 
with  its  entire  line,  as  do  a  great  many  other  manu- 
facturers, and  find  it  very  successful.  This  style 
of  advertising  by  suggestion  is  just  the  thing  for  a 
house  organ  reaching  the  consumers.  If  a  sugges- 
tion is  given  which  aids  the  consumer  in  deciding  a 


House  Organs  73 

perplexing  question  the  sale  of  the  advertised  or 
suggested  article  is  practically  made.  This  style  of 
suggestion  does  not  apply  wholly  to  the  manufac- 
turer of  food  products.  It  may  be  used  with  great 
success  by  almost  any  kind  of  a  manufacturer.  The 
idea  is  just  the  same  in  case  of  the  manufacturer 
who  suggests  selling  schemes  to  the  retail  merchant. 
The  office  of  SUGGESTION  in  advertising  is  an 
important  one.  It  appears  in  nearly  every  known 
form  of  advertising  today.  Let  the  manufacturer 
convince  the  consumer  that  he  will  be  benefited  by 
the  use  of  his  article.  Let  him  convince  the  retailer 
that  he  can  make  money  by  handling  his  line  of 
products.  Sales  will  be  easy  and  frequent.  The 
use  of  the  house  organ  is  the  best  means  of  accom- 
plishing this  that  the  advertiser  has  and  he  should 
make  intelligent  use  of  it. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
CATALOG  ADVERTISING. 

THIS  form  of  advertising  for  both  manufacturer 
and  wholesaler  is  very  popular  and  produces 
lasting  results.  Catalogs  are  often  kept  at  hand 
for  years  and  get  business  right  along.  The  writer 
was  once  connected  with  a  firm  which  issued  a  large 
wholesale  catalog  of  elaborate  style  and  sent  out 
twenty  or  thirty  thousand  of  them.  These  catalogs 
were  only  good  for  one  year  but  the  returns  in  mail 
orders  were  enormous. 

Preparing  a  catalog  should  be  in  the  hands  of 
the  advertising  department.  There  are  firms,  how- 
ever, which  make  a  business  of  cataloging  and  are 
experts  at  it. 

The  arrangement  of  the  items  to  be  listed  and 
the  placing  of  the  cuts  should  first  be  determined. 
After  this  has  been  done  the  remaining  work  is  for 
the  printer.  There  are  printers,  today,  who  special- 
ize in  catalog  making  and  it  is  policy  for  the  adver- 
tiser to  allow  this  kind  of  a  printer  to  do  his  work. 
There  is  less  chance  for  mistakes  and  good  sugges- 
tions are  often  forthcoming  from  a  printer  of  this 
sort. 


Catalog  Advertising  75 

A  wholesale  catalog  can  be  made  less  expensive 
by  allowing  outside  advertisers  to  take  space  in  it. 
If  the  outside  advertiser  wishes  to  use  colored  in- 
serts he  may  do  so  provided  he  furnishes  them  free 
to  the  firm  issuing  the  catalog.  These  must  be 
trimmed  to  the  proper  size  of  the  catalog  and  be  all 
ready  to  be  inserted.  It  should  be  insisted  upon  by 
the  publisher  of  the  catalog,  however,  that  the  man- 
ufacturer advertising  in  the  above  manner  should 
omit  his  name  and  address  from  his  advertisement. 
The  purpose  of  the  catalog,  in  this  case,  is  to  solicit 
business  for  the  wholesaler.  It  is  not  for  the  out- 
side advertiser.  This  purpose  would  be  defeated 
if  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  different  adver- 
tisers ^ appeared  on  the  advertising.  Some  firms 
which  issue  large  catalogs  allow  the  outside  adver- 
tiser to  attach  the  initials  of  his  firm  to  the  inserts. 
For  the  one  issuing  a  catalog  it  would  be  a  good 
plan  to  include  several  of  the  firm's  regular  order 
blanks.  These  facilitate  ordering  for  the  dealer  or 
the  consumer.  The  old  theory  of  making  the  mat- 
ter of  ordering  as  simple  as  possible  holds  as  good 
in  catalog  advertising  as  in  any  other  form. 

The  results  to  be  obtained  from  the  use  of  the 
catalog  as  an  advertising  medium  may  be  seen  in  the 
wonderful  growth  of  the  mail  order  firms  of  the 
country.  The  mail  order  house's  catalog  is  usually 
headed  with  the  following  statement  which  they  try 
to  impress  upon  their  customers: 


76    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

SAVE  THIS  CATALOG— IT  IS  GOOD  FOR 
A  LONG  TIME. 

Then  in  smaller  type  they  add :  Keep  this  cata- 
log handy  for  a  long  time.  Do  not  throw  it  away. 
We  shall  have  all  these  goods  in  stock  for  some  time 
to  come  and  if  any  reductions  in  price  are  made  we 
will  give  you  the  benefit  when  your  order  arrives. 

The  advertiser  should  use  the  same  style  of 
heading  in  all  his  catalogs.  He  wants  to  impress 
the  wholesaler  and  retailer  with  the  above  fact  just 
the  same  as  he  does  the  ultimate  consumer.  The 
advent  of  the  parcels  post  has  made  buying  by  mail 
more  easy  and  has  increased  the  efficiency  of  the 
catalog.  The  dealer  does  not  have  to  wait  until  he 
is  able  to  make  up  a  freight  shipment  in  order  to 
get  his  goods,  and  the  consumer  can  have  a  Larger 
package  sent  by  mail  which  makes  the  matter  of 
ordering  easier  and  more  simple. 

In  making  a  catalog  the  editor  should  devote 
a  little  space  in  the  front  part  to  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations of  the  parcels  post  system. 

The  average  small  retailer  and  the  consumer 
know  little  of  the  parcels  post  regulations  and  the 
above  requirements,  if  printed,  will  aid  him  in 
ordering  and  will  make  the  catalog  useful  to  him  in 
other  ways. 

The  usefulness  of  the  parcels  post  should  not 
influence  the  advertiser  to  solicit  mail  order  business 


Catalog  Advertising  77 

only.  He  should  endeavor  to  educate  his  customers 
to  ordering  a  hundred  pounds  or  enough  to  make  a 
freight  shipment.  Freight  is  considerably  cheaper 
than  either  mail  or  express  and  is  one  of  the  most 
convincing  arguments  the  advertiser  has  at  hand. 

Every  manufacturer  should  have  a  catalog  of  his 
products  and  should  put  it  in  the  hands  of  every 
one  of  his  wholesale  and  retail  dealers.  The  re- 
tailer uses  it  to  sell  goods  which  he  does  not  carry 
in  stock.  The  wholesaler  sends  it  out  to  his  travel- 
ing representatives  and  they  use  it  in  selling  goods 
of  which  they  do  not  carry  a  sample.  After  a  cata- 
log leaves  the  hands  of  the  advertiser  he  can  never 
tell  who  will  get  it  or  what  results  it  will  produce. 
It  depends  largely  upon  the  physical  appearance  of 
the  catalog  whether  it  will  be  thrown  away  or  kept 
at  hand  for  some  time. 

In  making  a  catalog  the  editor  should  be  pro- 
fuse in  his  use  of  illustrations  for  it  is  by  their 
aid  that  the  sales  are  made.  The  first  thing  a  cus- 
tomer asks  is,  "How  does  it  look?"  The  illustra- 
tion  will  answer  this  question  at  once  while  a  long 
description  would  not  be  entirely  read,  perhaps,  and 
if  it  were,  it  would  confuse  the  customer.  He 
would  know  no  more  than  he  did  at  the  beginning. 
However,  printed  descriptions  are  often  necessary 
and  they  should  be  written  in  the  simplest  possible 
language.  Short  and  to  the  point  is  the  real  require- 
ment. 


78    Whatan  Advertiser  Should  Know 

Writing  descriptions  for  a  catalog  is  similar  to 
preparing  "copy"  for  a  newspaper  advertisement 
and  should  be  conducted  along  the  same  lines.  The 
attention  of  the  reader  has  to  be  arrested  and  his 
interest  gained  before  he  will  read  the  description. 
This  fact  must  be  kept  firmly  in  the  mind  of  the 
person  writing  the  "copy."  Often  when  the  de- 
scription of  an  article  is  placed  in  a  catalog  the 
amount  of  space  it  occupies  is  theoretically  charged 
to  it.  If,  at  the  end  of  a  certain  length  of  time,  it 
has  been  found  that  the  sales  of  this  particular  arti- 
cle have  not  been  enough  to  warrant  its  being  re- 
listed in  the  new  catalog,  it  is  either  dropped  entirely 
or  listed  without  the  aid  of  an  illustration.  This  is 
the  plan  pursued  by  the  large  mail  order  houses  of 
the  country  and  has  been  found  to  be  a  very  good 
way  to  check  the  articles  listed  in  a  catalog  as  to 
their  selling  qualities. 

In  putting  on  a  campaign  of  advertising  it  is  a 
good  plan  for  the  advertiser  to  issue  a  small  sixteen 
or  thirty-two  page  catalog  of  the  special  line  of 
products  he  is  advertising  and  to  imprint  certain 
quantities  for  the  retail  dealer,  to  be  used  by  him  In 
a  manner  similar  to  that  of  circulars.  In  a  big  run 
the  additional  cost  of  imprinting  is  very  little. 

An  interesting  bit  of  information  was  given  to 
the  writer  by  a  buyer  for  one  of  the  leading  mer- 
chants of  the  country  and  comes  in  very  well  under 


Catalog  Advertising  79 

the  subject  of  catalog  advertising.  This  buyer  was 
advertising  in  the  daily  papers  a  series  of  articles  at 
a  special  price.  For  the  sake  of  an  experiment  he 
played  up  strongly  about  ten  of  the  articles  in  the 
series.  He  thought  that  by  advertising  the  ten 
articles  the  attention  of  the  readers  would  be  at- 
tracted to  the  series  and  that  by  prominently  dis- 
playing the  rest  of  the  articles  in  the  store,  big  re- 
sults would  be  gained.  Instead  of  this,  however, 
the  ten  articles  which  he  had  played  up  strongly  in 
the  newspapers  were  the  only  ones  to  move.  The 
others  hung  on.  After  trying  this  method  for  a 
few  days  he  "cataloged"  or  listed  all  the  articles  in 
the  series  in  his  advertisements,  not  playing  one  up 
any  stronger  than  the  other.  As  a  result  the  entire 
series  began  to  move. 

The  lesson  from  this  experience  is  that  if  you 
have  a  series  of  articles  to  place  in  your  catalog,  do 
not  show  part  of  them  up  stronger  than  the  others 
but  give  each  one  the  same  trial.  Customers  will 
think  that  the  ones  pushed  hardest  are  better  than 
the  others  and  will  buy  them  and  pass  the  others. 
This  is  the  cause  for  so  many  overstocks.  All  peo- 
ple who  are  interested  in  the  selling  profession  are 
liable  to  sell  goods  along  the  lines  of  least  resistance. 
If  a  merchant  has  a  stock  of  goods  on  hand  and 
wishes  to  catalog  it,  he  should  not  list  only  the  good 
sellers,  but  should  place  with  them  the  articles  that 


80    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

do  not  move  so  readily.  The  "good  sellers"  will 
move  themselves.  The  others  are  the  ones  which 
need  the  benefit  of  the  advertising. 

A  catalog,  like  a  house  organ,  may  be  issued  to 
reach  three  different  classes  of  buyers, — the  whole- 
saler, the  retailer  and  the  ultimate  consumer.  The 
catalogs  sent  to  the  consumer  should  be  made  more 
artistic  in  their  physical  appearance  than  the  others. 
What  has  been  said  about  circulars,  in  this  respect, 
applies  to  catalogs.  The  lines  laid  down  for  the 
house  organ  reaching  the  consumer  can  be  followed 
in  making  a  catalog.  The  catalogs  which  are  to 
reach  the  retail  dealer  should  be  made  attractive 
and  practical  but  do  not  have  to  be  as  elaborate  as 
those  intended  for  the  consumers.  The  catalog  to 
the  wholesaler  is  used  more  as  a  reference  and 
should  be  made  with  this  in  mind. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  RETAILER  FROM  A  MANUFACTURER'S  STAND- 
POINT. 

TODAY  the  retail  merchant  buys  most  of  his 
stock  direct  from  the  manufacturer  at  a  bet- 
ter price  than  he  formerly,  got  from  the  jobber. 
This  fact  alone  contributes  to  the  price-cutting 
problem,  so  very  evident  in  this  day  and  age.  If 
an  article  is  well  advertised  and  a  demand  created 
for  it,  the  retailers  immediately  begin  to  cut  the 
price  in  order  to  get  more  business  on  it.  At  least 
this  is  the  theory  on  which  they  proceed.  This  con- 
dition of  affairs  is  deplorable.  By  his  own  volition 
the  retailer  cuts  his  profit  to  practically  nothing. 
He  then  turns  to  the  manufacturer  and  cries  for  a 
better  profit.  This  is  not  fair  to  the  manufacturer. 
He  has  only  so  much  profit  to  work  upon  and  is 
expected  to  do  a  great  deal  with  it.  His  advertising 
expenses  are  high  and  his  selling  cost  is  great.  The 
retailer's  answer  to  all  this  is,  "Put  up  the  price  of 
the  article  to  the  consumer." 

A  general  survey  of  the  magazines  and  news- 
papers will  show  that  the  consumer  is  paying  about 
all  he  can  afford  for  the  articles  produced  today. 


82    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

On  the  other  hand  the  tendency  today  is  to  lessen 
the  retail  selling  price  and  give  the  same  quality  at 
a  lesser  price.  The  retailer  will  say  that  his  run- 
ning expenses  are  higher,  his  help  costs  more  than 
it  once  did,  etc.  Granting  that  all  this  is  true, 
would  it  not  be  all  the  more  reason  for  maintaining 
a  standard  selling  price  and  not  cutting  prices  until 
his  profits  amount  to  nothing? 

The  manufacturer's  problem  today  is  to  hit  upon 
a  plan  whereby  he  can  protect  the  advertised  selling 
price  of  his  products.  In  several  instances  cases  of 
this  sort  have  been  taken  into  court  and  the  courts 
have  ruled  that  when  a  merchant  buys  an  article 
and  pays  for  it  he  can  sell  it  for  whatever  he  likes. 
A  certain  publishing  firm  brought  suit  against  a 
large  department  store  in  New  York  City  in  the  at- 
tempt to  prevent  them  from  selling  their  books  at 
a  cut  price,  but  they  lost  the  suit.  The  publishers, 
in  general,  refused  to  sell  this  firm  their  books,  but 
that  did  not  stop  the  price-cutting.  The  books 
were  obtained  from  some  other  source  and  the  price- 
cutting  went  on  the  same  as  before.  The  truth  of 
the  whole  price-cutting  matter  is  that  if  the  firm 
which  is  cutting  prices  is  a  large  one  and  is  using 
enormous  quantities  of  a  certain  brand  of  goods,  the 
manufacturer  is  blind  to  it  all  and  turns  a  deaf  ear. 
He  is  getting  his  price  and  after  the  goods  leave  his 
establishment  he  does  not  care  what  becomes  of 


Retailer  and  Manufacturer         83 

them  nor  how  they  are  sold.  Thank  goodness,  this 
doesn't  apply  to  all  manufacturers.  There  are  still 
a  few  who  are  fighting  the  price-cutting  evil  which 
demoralizes  the  retail  business  and  forces  the  smaller 
dealer  to  the  wall.  The  larger  stores  can  buy  goods 
cheaper  than  the  smaller  merchant  and  are,  there- 
fore, in  position  to  undersell  their  smaller  competi- 
tors every  time. 

Department  stores  often  cut  the  price  on  some 
well  known  article  and  use  it  as  a  form  of  adver- 
tising. They  say  that  it  gets  people  into  their  store 
and  that  they  are  able  to  sell  them  something  else 
other  than  the  article  on  which  the  price  is  cut. 
The  retail  dealer,  by  his  actions  in  this  respect,  has 
forced  the  advertiser  into  an  aggressive  state  of 
mind  and  also  to  the  point  where  he  has  to  take  an 
aggressive  attitude  to  protect  himself.  The  manu- 
facturers have  tried  to  stop  this  menace  to  a  healthy 
business  condition  by  appealing  in  a  commercial  way 
to  the  retailer's  sense  of  honor.  They  have  been 
successful  with  a  great  majority  of  the  country's 
leading  merchants.  Other  manufacturing  concerns 
force  the  retailer  to  sign  a  contract  agreeing  to 
maintain  the  advertised  price  before  allowing  him  to 
buy  their  goods  direct.  After  signing  this  contract, 
if  the  retailer  still  persists  in  cutting  the  price,  he 
is  visited  by  a  representative  of  the  manufacturer 
who  is  instructed  to  buy  up  all  of  the  product  in 


84    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

question  at  the   full  retail   price.     This   dealer  is 
then  black-listed  and  is  never  sold  to  again. 

The  price-cutting  habit  seems  to  have  a  firm 
grip  on  the  druggists  of  our  country.  The  manu- 
facturers of  patent  medicines  and  toilet  articles  have 
been  trying  for  years  to  prevent  it  but  they  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  successful.  One  firm  known  to 
the  writer  manufactured  a  line  of  toilet  prepara- 
tions which  were  of  small  popularity  at  the  begin- 
ning. They  sold  their  goods  to  any  who  would  buy 
them.  After  their  popularity  increased,  however, 
they  found  that  one  of  the  large  department  stores 
was  cutting  the  price  of  the  most  popular  article  in 
their  line.  The  manufacturer  himself  went  to  call 
upon  the  manager  of  the  store  and  appealed  to  his 
sense  of  commercial  honor,  but  was  met  with  the 
response  that  the  owners  knew  how  to  run  their  own 
business.  This  firm  was  black-listed  and  was  not 
sold  any  more  goods  direct,  but  in  spite  of  this  pre- 
caution it  still  obtained  the  goods  and  sold  them  at 
a  cut  price.  The  case  was  then  thoroughly  investi- 
gated. It  was  found  that  some  small  store  was  sell- 
ing the  article  in  question  to  the  larger  store  at  the 
full  retail  price.  The  small  merchant  was  then 
approached  on  the  matter.  The  manager  emphati- 
cally denied  selling  the  larger  store  but  afterwards 
admitted  that  he  had  sold  the  goods  to  a  well  dressed 
young  man  who  came  into  the  store.  This  young 


Retailer  and  Manufacturer         85 

man,  of  course,  was  in  the  employ  of  the  larger 
store.  After  clearing  up  the  matter  the  small  mer- 
chant was  warned  against  doing  such  a  thing  again 
and  the  offense  was  never  repeated.  In  the  case 
of  the  large  store,  it  was  buying  this  article  at  the 
full  retail  price  and  selling  it  at  a  cut  price,  at  a 
big  loss.  To  sell  goods  at  a  price  less  than  some 
other  store  may  be  good  advertising.  But  it  is  poor 
business  policy  to  take  a  loss  on  an  article  when  in 
all  probability  the  large  store  would  sell  just  as 
much  of  it  at  the  full  retail  price.  Bargain  sales 
at  cut  prices  may  be  all  right  for  overstocks  and 
remainders,  but  to  cut  the  price  of  an  article  which 
is  being  called  for  every  day  seems  like  suicide. 

If  the  retail  merchant  persists  in  this  method  of 
getting  business  he  will  force  the  advertiser  to  solicit 
sales  direct  from  the  consumer  and  not  to  write 
his  advertising  in  such  form  as  to  solicit  for  the 
local  dealer.  This  sort  of  thing  destroys  the  entire 
advertising  campaign  of  the  manufacturer.  What 
would  be  the  use  in  trying  to  educate  the  public  up 
to  paying  a  certain  price?  Soliciting  orders  direct 
by  the  advertiser  is  becoming  more  generally  prac- 
ticed every  day.  It  behooves  the  retail  dealer  to 
watch  his  methods  of  getting  business  carefully  or 
he  may  destroy  the  goose  that  lays  the  golden  egg. 

The  advertiser  is  more  or  less  forced  to  take  this 
stand  in  self-defense  because  of  the  lack  of  interest 


86    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

on  the  part  of  the  retail  dealer.  Having  created  a 
consumer's  demand  for  his  products  the  manufac- 
turer can  use  it  as  a  lever  in  making  the  retailer 
maintain  the  advertised  selling  price.  In  order  to 
gain  the  interest  of  the  dealer  it  is  necessary  for  the 
manufacturer  to  show  him  that  there  is  a  certain 
demand  for  the  advertised  article.  He  can  get  his 
co-operation  by  showing  him  where  he  can  make  a 
good  profit.  Having  secured  the  dealer's  interest, 
the  manufacturer  should  further  strengthen  it  by 
offering  him  imprinted  circulars,  samples,  news- 
paper advertising,  etc.  Send  him  the  house  organ 
and  write  him  at  different  intervals  so  that  he  will 
feel  that  he  has  an  interest  in  the  concern  and  that 
you  are  helping  him  to  dispose  of  your  goods.  And 
last,  but  not  least,  appeal  to  his  honor  not  to  cut 
the  advertised  price. 

To  create  a  consumer's  demand  is  a  great  prob- 
lem for  the  advertiser.  This  is  often  accomplished 
by  giving  out  samples.  The  character  of  the  goods 
advertised  will  determine  whether  this  method  can 
be  pursued  or  not.  Hardware  firms  could  not  very 
well  use  it,  but  patent  medicine  concerns,  soap  man- 
ufacturers and  the  like  employ  this  method  and  find 
it  very  profitable.  This  kind  of  advertising  is  often 
a  source  of  great  loss  to  the  advertiser.  Unless  the 
distribution  is  carefully  watched  the  samples  may 
fall  into  the  hands  of  consumers  who  do  not  use  the 


Retailer  and  Manufacturer         87 

class  of  gocds  advertised,  in  which  case  the  whole 
lot  of  samples  would  be  wasted  and  bring  no  re- 
turns. The  distributing  agency  may  steal  the  lot 
outright.  It  would  be  best  for  the  advertiser  to 
send  his  samples  direct  to  the  retail  merchant  and 
let  him  superintend  the  distribution  of  them  and 
charge  the  cost  incurred  to  the  advertiser. 

In  creating  a  consumer's  demand  for  an  article, 
the  advertiser  sometimes  inserts  an  advertisement  in 
the  local  papers  with  a  coupon  attached.  If  this 
coupon  is  presented  at  a  certain  local  store  a  sample 
of  the  advertised  article  will  be  given  away  free. 
This  sort  of  a  scheme  is  local  advertising  for  the 
dealer  and  at  once  enlists  his  co-operation.  A  great 
many  patent  medicine  concerns  absolutely  guarantee 
their  products  to  cure  certain  ailments  and  instruct 
the  druggist  to  refund  the  price  of  the  medicine 
whenever  it  fails  to  cure  and  the  empty  bottle  is 
returned.  This  plan  has  proved  effective  in  creat- 
ing a  consumers'  demand. 

There  are  a  great  many  difficulties  to  be  en- 
countered in  the  distribution  of  advertising  matter 
through  the  retail  merchant.  He  seems  to  think 
that  he  is  doing  the  advertiser  a  favor  when  in  re- 
ality he  is  soliciting  business  for  himself.  To  relate 
an  experience  showing  how  inconsistant  and  un- 
reasonable a  retail  merchant  can  be,  the  firm  to 
which  the  writer  belongs  sent  a  bunch  of  expensive 


88    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

advertising  matter  to  a  certain  merchant,  at  his  own 
request.  He  flatly  refused  to  pay  fifty  cents  express 
charges  on  it.  The  advertising  matter  was  worth 
at  least  fifteen  dollars  and  we  were  giving  it  to  him 
free  of  charge.  At  another  time  we  sent  some  elec- 
trotypes to  a  merchant  for  use  by  him  in  his  local 
advertising  and  had  them  returned  to  us  because  the 
dealer  refused  to  pay  the  carriage.  In  a  certain 
drug  store,  known  to  the  writer,  the  druggist  re- 
ceived an  expensive  electric  sign  which  was  intended 
to  advertise  a  certain  article.  Did  he  use  it  and 
partly  repay  the  advertiser  for  his  expense  in  having 
the  sign  made?  No,  he  did  not.  He  tore  it  apart 
and  arranged  it  to  advertise  some  preparation  he 
made  himself.  Expensive  posters  are  very  often 
used  by  merchants  in  wrapping  up  heavy  packages. 
Circulars  are  often  used  for  smaller  ones.  Is  this 
fair  to  the  advertiser  who  goes  to  a  great  expense 
to  put  advertising  material  in  the  hands  of  the  re- 
tailer in  order  that  he  may  increase  his  business? 
An  advertiser  thanks  the  retail  merchant  who  writes 
him  that  he  is  not  in  a  position  to  use  his  advertising 
matter  and  for  him  not  to  send  it.  Thousands  of 
dollars  are  wasted  in  this  manner,  while  if  the  re- 
tailer would  only  cultivate  a  more  friendly  attitude 
toward  the  advertiser  and  be  a  little  more  far- 
sighted  he  would  put  all  this  waste  to  working  for 
him.  Then  he,  in  turn,  would  be  greatly  benefited. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  ADVERTISING  MANAGER  AND  THE  ADVERTIS- 
ING AGENCY. 

Ti  TOST  of  the  large  concerns  which  advertise  ex- 
1VJ.  tensively,  employ  an  advertising  manager. 
This  man  handles  all  the  details  of  the  advertising 
department,  such  as  writing  form  letters,  preparing 
all  the  plans  of  a  big  campaign,  etc.  He  oversees 
the  sub-letting  of  his  contracts  for  bill-boards  or 
sign  boards.  He  looks  after  the  printing  details 
and  almost  always  prepares  his  own  "copy"  for  the 
newspapers.  In  concerns  where  a  sales-manager  is 
employed  it  is  best  that  the  two  department  man- 
agers collaborate  for  the  betterment  of  the  business 
in  general.  When  the  sales-manager  is  acquainted 
with  what  is  going  on  in  the  advertising  department 
he  transmits  the  information  to  his  salesmen  who 
in  turn  impress  upon  the  dealer  just  what  the  firm 
is  doing  to  promote  business  and  to  move  the  goods 
from  the  retailer's  shelves.  In  a  great  many  firms 
the  positions  of  sales-manager  and  advertising  man- 
ager are  combined.  This  seems  to  be  a  good  plan 
although  it  makes  a  pretty  busy  man  out  of  the  per- 
son holding  such  a  position.  However,  a  man  in 


90    Whatan  Advertiser  Should  Know 

this  position  usually  has  one  or  two  capable  as- 
sistants who  relieve  him  of  a  great  deal  of  the  detail. 
In  most  large  concerns  the  advertising  department 
comes  ahead  of  the  sales  department,  for  it  is  very 
often  that  an  advertising  campaign  costing  from  a 
quarter  to  a  half  million  dollars  is  planned  and  this 
amount  represents  as  much  as  the  whole  sales  force 
would  represent.  So  in  point  of  expenditure  the 
advertising  expense  is  most  important  and  the  adver- 
tising really  becomes  a  part  of  the  regular  sales 
force. 

Many  of  our  highest  salaried  advertising  men 
consult  with  their  advertising  agents  in  planning  a 
campaign  and  many  valuable  suggestions  are  given. 
Often  the  agent  will  write  all  the  "copy"  for  the 
campaign.  He  will  look  after  the  details  of  order- 
ing space  and  checking  the  advertisements  as  they 
appear,  thus  saving  the  advertising  manager  a  great 
deal  of  labor.  If  the  sales-manager  reports  that  a 
certain  territory  is  not  producing  good  results  and 
is  weak,  it  is  often  necessary  for  the  advertising 
manager  to  take  a  trip  and  look  over  this  territory. 
He  frequently  hits  upon  a  scheme  of  advertising 
while  on  the  ground  and  at  once  puts  it  to  working. 

It  is  quite  necessary  for  the  advertising  man- 
ager to  work  in  harmony  with  the  salesmen  of  the 
house.  They  can  often  give  him  a  tip  as  to  how 
certain  improvements  can  be  made  in  their  territory. 


The  Advertiser  and  the  Agency      91 

To  be  able  to  explain  in  detail  the  campaign  of  ad- 
vertising their  house  is  putting  on  is  one  of  the 
best  sales  arguments  a  salesman  has  at  his  command. 
It  is  one  of  the  duties  of  the  advertising  manager 
to  keep  the  salesmen  posted  while  they  are  on  the 
road,  and  it  is  a  good  plan  to  "pull"  a  few  proofs 
of  the  different  advertisements  and  send  them  to  the 
road  men  at  regular  intervals. 

The  office  of  the  advertising  agency  is  to  work 
in  conjunction  with  the  advertising  manager  (or 
with  the  advertiser  direct)  in  preparing  and  plan- 
ning his  campaigns.  Very  often  a  certain  appro- 
priation is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  agency  with  in- 
structions to  expend  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  adver- 
tiser. The  greater  percent  of  advertising  done  to- 
day is  through  an  agency.  It  has  been  found  to  be 
most  satisfactory  to  the  advertiser.  The  big  agency 
of  today  employs  a  corps  of  skilled  writers  whose 
duty  it  is  to  prepare  all  the  advertising  for  the  firm. 
There  is  also  a  staff  of  talented  artists  to  prepare 
the  color  advertisements,  catalog  covers  and  the 
illustrations  to  be  used.  Large  salaries  are  paid  to 
these  artists  and  "copy"  writers.  The  agency  takes 
care  of  the  checking  of  the  advertisements,  sees  to 
it  that  the  advertiser  gets  the  proper  number  of  in- 
sertions and  the  position  ordered.  The  agency  pays 
all  the  bills  of  the  campaign  and  the  advertiser  in 
turn  is  billed  from  the  agency's  checking  records. 


92    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

The  agency  receives  its  remuneration  from  the  ad- 
vertiser in  the  form  of  a  commission  which  varies 
with  the  different  mediums  used.  Some  publishers 
will  not  pay  an  agency's  commission  but  the  agency 
will  handle  certain  mediums  without  a  commission 
if  their  clients  insist  upon  it.  This  sort  of  business 
is  considered  a  favor  by  the  agency. 

It  is  very  easy  for  the  advertiser  to  see  that  it 
is  no  additional  expense  to  him  if  he  allows  the 
agency  to  handle  his  advertising  instead  of  maintain- 
ing his  own  organization.  The  agent  is  trained. 
He  has  made  a  study  of  the  advertising  problems  of 
today.  He  has  learned  many  things  from  his  ex- 
perience in  handling  different  kinds  of  advertising. 
He  is  better  equipped  to  manage  a  campaign  than 
is  the  man  who  handles  only  one  advertising  account. 
With  every  different  account  the  agent  handles  he 
learns  something  new.  His  combined  knowledge 
fits  him  to  manage  intelligently  any  sort  of  adver- 
tising. The  agency  also  protects  the  advertiser  in 
each  and  every  case.  The  agent  is  an  excellent 
judge  of  possibilities.  He  knows  the  different  sec- 
tions of  the  country  where  goods  can  be  sold  readily 
and  those  where  difficulties  are  to  be  encountered. 
The  advertising  business  is  recognized  as  a  profes- 
sion. Those  who  have  been  in  it  for  years  have 
gained  their  client's  confidence  and  are  looked  to 
for  advice  in  much  the  same  manner  as  is  a  lawyer. 


The  Advertiser  and  the  Agency      93 

In  a  great  many  cases  the  agency  simply  acts  as 
the  advertiser's  agent  in  placing  the  advertisements 
and  securing  the  positions  wanted.  In  our  own 
firm,  for  instance,  we  prepare  our  own  "copy."  We 
select  the  mediums  we  want  and  then  allow  the 
agency  to  place  them  for  us.  This  saves  us  from 
the  necessity  of  maintaining  the  extra  office  force 
for  handling  the  amount  of  detail  and  correspon- 
dence which  is  involved  in  placing  and  checking  ad- 
vertisements. By  this  means  we  only  have  one  ac- 
count, the  agency,  on  our  books,  instead  of  a  great 
number.  By  permitting  the  agency  to  place  our 
advertising,  thus  allowing  them  to  make  their  com- 
mission, we  feel  free  to  ask  them  for  advice. 

Most  all  newspapers  and  magazines  employ  ad- 
vertising solicitors  whose  duty  it  is  to  call  upon  the 
different  agencies  and  get  them  to  use  their  paper 
as  one  of  their  mediums,  and  also  to  call  upon  the 
advertiser  direct.  They  work  on  a  straight  salary, 
not  on  a  commission  basis.  A  solicitor  may  work 
up  quite  a  lot  of  local  trade.  He  can  buy  space  in 
his  paper  at  a  flat  rate  and  re-sell  it  to  his  clients 
at  the  regular  card  rate,  thus  making  a  certain 
profit.  This  is  a  scheme  which  is  worked  quite  gen- 
erally and  is  very  often  conducted  on  a  large  scale. 
A  solicitor  will  also  work  in  connection  with  the 
agency  to  develop  new  business  and  he  is  now  re- 
garded as  a  factor  in  the  advertising  world.  Ad- 


94    What  an  Advertiser  Should  Know 

vertising  agencies  employ  solicitors  direct  and  in 
this  case  the  solicitor  will  sit  down  with  the  adver- 
tiser and  help  him  to  plan  his  campaign,  if  the 
agency  is  not  employed  to  do  it  for  him.  He  will 
also  help  him  prepare  his  "copy"  and  give  him  sug- 
gestions in  general.  Of  course  all  this  is  done  on 
the  supposition  that  the  advertising  is  to  be  placed 
through  the  solicitor's  agency. 

Advertising  plays  such  an  important  part  in 
business  as  it  is  conducted  today  that  it  is  necessary 
for  the  manufacturer  to  be  extremely  careful  in  his 
selection  of  a  man  to  handle  his  advertising  prob- 
lems. If  the  advertising  agency  does  it  for  a  firm 
it  is  not  necessary  to  have  an  advertising  manager. 
The  publicity  man  can  take  care  of  the  form  letter 
and  circular  distributions.  In  case  a  publicity  man 
is  employed  in  a  firm  maintaining  an  advertising 
department,  headed  by  a  manager,  he  is  considered 
the  manager's  assistant  and  takes  care  of  the  details 
of  the  different  campaigns. 

In  bringing  this  little  book  to  a  close  the  writer 
only  hopes  that  he  has  been  able  to  put  forth  clearly 
some  of  the  essentials  of  what  an  advertiser  should 
know.  The  subject  is  so  big  and  so  broad  that 
it  is  hardly  possible  to  confine  it  to  one  small  vol- 
ume. The  term  advertiser,  to  the  writer,  means 
any  one  who  advertises.  This  applies  to  the  smallest 


The  Advertiser  and  the  Agency      95 

merchant  who  puts  a  show  card  in  his  windows  once 
a  month  as  well  as  to  the  largest  advertisers  on  rec- 
ord. Some  of  the  points  touched  upon  in  this  volume 
are  more  clearly  defined  in  the  author's  other  volume, 
entitled  "What  A  Salesman  Should  Know."  When 
we  stop  to  think  how  closely  related  the  advertising 
and  selling  professions  really  are  it  seems  almost 
impossible  to  separate  them.  Advertising  is  selling 
without  the  aid  of  personal  contact  with  the  buyer. 
It  is  by  far  the  hardest  form  of  salesmanship  and 
requires  the  most  careful  study.  The  author  hopes 
that  every  advertiser,  whether  large  or  small,  will 
read  this  little  book,  keep  it  on  his  desk  for  refer- 
ence and  use  it  to  his  own  benefit  and  profit. 


HENRY  C.  TAYLOR'S 
PREVIOUS  WORK 


WHAT  A  SALESMAN 
SHOULD  KNOW 

THERE  is  no  salesman  in  the  world  who  "knows 
it  all."  Something  can  always  be  learned 
about  the  art  of  selling.  This  one  fact  alone  makes 
this  little  book  helpful  to  every  salesman,  both  re- 
tail and  traveling;  for  it  puts  forth  the  ideas  and 
tips  of  one  man  who  regards  salesmanship  as  a 
profession  and  who  has  been  very  successful  as  a 
salesman. 

"What  a  Salesman  Should  Know"  contains  no 
funny  anecdotes  and  no  verbose  theorizing.  It  is 
packed  full  of  good  straight-from-the-shoulder  facts 
about  selling — the  knowledge  gained  in  a  career  of 
long,  earnest  endeavor  on  the  road  crowned  with 
success.  The  author  is  still  a  comparatively  young 
man  and  his  methods  are  the  down-to-the-minute, 
twentieth  century  sort, — the  kind  that  make  for  sure 
success. 

I  THE  FOUNDATION 

II  BUYING  VERSUS  SELLING 

III  APPROACHING  A  -CUSTOMER   \ 

IV  MAKING  A  SAMPLE  DISPLAY 

V    ENTERTAINING*  CUSTOMERS,  USE  OF  Ex- 

PF  NS  E  .ACCOUNT,  :  ETC  .^ 

VI    WAITING   -/HE    FIRM,   KEEPING  APPOINT- 
MENTS, ETC. 

VII    MILEAGE  BOOKS,  EXCESS  BAGGAGE,  TIP- 
PING, ETC. 

VIII    IMPROVING  SPARE  TIME 
IX    KEEPING  A  PERSONAL  RECORD  OF  SALES, 

ETC. 
X    CONCENTRATION 

Uniform  Binding 
Cloth  Bound;  75  cents  net,  Postpaid  80  cents. 

BROWNE  &  HOWELL  CO. 

PUBLISHERS 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN     INITIAL     FINE     OF     25     CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


27  1933 
MAR  28 


2lJan'50B6 


MAY    7 
MAY  10  IS48 


LD  21-50m-l,'3; 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


CHAS.  W  CLARK  CO. 


